


PROJECT: REVIVAL

by TinySpiney



Series: STATUS: DATA UPLOAD COMPLETE [4]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Caregiver North (Detroit: Become Human), Failed Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Gen, Markus & Connor & CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60 & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Memory Loss, Multi, Non-Sexual Age Play, North & CyberLife Connor | RK800-60 are Friends, North (Detroit: Become Human)-centric, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Resurrection, Soft North (Detroit: Become Human), Suicidal Thoughts, The RK series are siblings, Upgraded Connor | RK900 & North Friendship, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has ADHD, but not for north and josh whoo boy, have fun trying to figure out just who that tag is for, in chapter 22, its not north dont worry, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 73,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28141131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinySpiney/pseuds/TinySpiney
Summary: [Can be read as a stand-alone, but the context of the previous parts certainly does help you understand some things]
Relationships: Connor & CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60 & Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Markus, CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60 & North, Josh & North & Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Josh & North (Detroit: Become Human), Josh/North (Detroit: Become Human), Markus & North (Detroit: Become Human), Minor or Background Relationship(s), North & Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Original Chloe | RT600 & North, Upgraded Connor | RK900 & North
Series: STATUS: DATA UPLOAD COMPLETE [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697722
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. You Put Your Head In My Hands

**Author's Note:**

> chapter title is from The Mother We Share by CHVRCHES!!
> 
> I,,, got an idea for the S:DUC series. I love North, I love Josh, I love Simon. I have a plan for these guys, and it's pretty fuckin' rad if I do say so myself

_ December 16th 2040 6:43 PM _

  
  


Any and all memories that were stored in the background processes were...blurry. They were covered in a layer of static and corrupted beyond any form of recognition. The world was cold, though, that much was as clear as day. Despite it being dark outside, despite the freezing temperatures that threatened each and every joint to lock up and make it so any movement was simply a dream. Friction. That created heat. If there was  _ just enough, _ then everything would be okay. Movement. Through under some debris came a noise, a flicker of sad eyes, and a hand reaching out weakly. It shuddered and shook, and it looked like it took everything in that android just to stay awake. Let alone alive. 

All she needed to do was move. She just needed to move her legs, to bend her arms and push herself into a sitting position. The plastic encasing her delicate insides creaked and moaned in the cold temperatures, making her shudder in fear. Was that fear? She was already so cold, she could only register the feeling like something was scratching at her from inside her chest and trying to escape. But those other people needed help. What was her own discomfort in the snow to their quite possible deaths? With a strained grunt that sounded more like angry static, she pushed herself up into a crouched position and crawled over to the people under the debris. It looked so old, sun-bleached and like it would snap if one were to put too much pressure on it. She reached underneath it and toward the hand that was shaking. It took so much out of her, it was so hard to get her hands to move in the frigid winter air, but she grasped it firmly and  _ pulled. _

A tall man emerged from under the debris, dragging along a shorter one. Neither of them had their synthetic skin projection up. Chances were that she didn’t either, but she wasn’t paying much attention to herself at the moment. She was functional enough to be able to help them. Her physical condition was well enough that she could help the two others, so it didn’t matter. The shorter of the two leaned heavily against their tall companion, grasping at his arm and trying to desperately keep upright. She was worried that a strong gust of wind could push the two of them over. In an act of what her fragmented memory banks registered as desperation, she held her hand out to them both. The shorter of the two eyed her warily. Though the taller one gave her kind eyes and accepted the outstretched hand with a smile. All they needed to do now was stick together. Then they could make their way out of...wherever they were. 

She led the way out of the pit they found themselves in. With their tall companion’s hand in her own, she guided the shorter one out first. His blue eyes seemed like they were trying to see right through her. Though they held a sadness that she didn’t understand; one that she found herself hoping to some day. Part of it was almost familiar to her. As if she had been on the receiving end of a look like that many times before, and this was just the latest she had been seeing it. Though she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and helped him out of the pit. Plastic pieces clattering in the night and the only sound aside from the whispering of the winds. Even the world beyond them seemed quiet. Quiet as she helped the tall man out of the pit, and he grasped her hand as he helped pull her out last. The world was cold and dark and quiet around them; the only thing keeping them all functional was the shared body heat from moving around next to one another. 

Something screamed in the back of her mind. That they were missing someone. That someone very important to all three of them was meant to be there, he promised to keep them safe. He promised freedom. Something bitter and cold settled behind her eyes and she took her companions hands and led them down a walkway. The steadily falling snow covered what little tracks were left on it, and she took to following them. If there were footprints, there were people. If there were people, there was somewhere warm they could hide. A closet, a back room, even some sort of android charging station would do for now. She needed to get her friends out of there. They needed to be warmed up and safe, lest they want the thirium in their veins to turn to ice and destabilize. Causing their inner systems to get confused and give them a cascade of error messages. 

She looked back at her companions, sending a brief inquiry of how they were doing through an interface, and smiled when they told her they were alright. They were worried about shelter for the night, but they would be alright because they had each other. She nodded and continued tracking the quickly fading footprints in the snow. A glitchy memory recall told her that winters in the city could be brutal. Though she apparently had only experienced one. Through the haze of the puzzle that was her memory, she felt one of the hands slip. The taller of her two companions had started to list off to the side involuntarily. Though he told her it was okay, that happened sometimes, now. He was alright, they could keep going. She looked to the shorter of the two men for any indicator that this was okay, because it certainly didn’t seem like it was. Though he only gave her that sad expression again and told her to keep going. 

Eventually they found themselves on the sidewalk of a busy street. With many,  _ many  _ pairs of eyes immediately turning toward them. She moved in front of her companions, stance becoming aggressive and pushing the other to so they were sure to be behind her body. From the snippets of memory she had, she knew that this was a dangerous situation. One that they needed to fight for their lives in. Though brown eyes turned on hers, and she could see a rapidly pulsating LED in his temple, blinking and glowing a terrible red. He rushed forward and began asking them if they needed any medical assistance, he was involved with New Jericho. The mention of the affiliate he had made her head burn, made it feel like it was going to explode from how much data was corrupted and yet still trying to be recalled. She clutched at her head and screamed. A terrible static filled screeching that would have rivalled a banshee. The android in front of her only started yelling for others to clear the area and give the four of them space. 

The next however long amount of time was a blur. It was a blurry of her trying to keep the other people that had arrived away from her and her two companions. Of her corrupted and broken voice module shrieking out into the night and trying to keep them all away, she was more than enough to keep them safe, she had promised them that she would keep them safe. Though any memory of when she made the promise was gone, buried in the sea of data that was her fragmented mind. A mind abuzz with voices and sounds and pleas for her to stay still, it would be so much easier for everyone involved if she were to just calm down and let the other people help. The voice she heard it in was not her own. It wasn’t her voice she was hearing in her own mind, but rather the one that belonged to the man with two different eyes. He also had sad eyes that pulled her in. It had to be the blue one that was drawing her in, so much like her shorter companion’s blue. 

The tallest of the four men came over, grabbing her by the arm and initiating an interface. His presence was calm, scared, but he ultimately managed to get her to calm down just a bit. Become less of a feral creature and more of scared but willing to ask for the help she and her friends needed. She stared up into his silvery eyes and squinted, sending a quizzical feeling through the connection. Though he only smiled down at her and audibly said he would get her friends the help they needed. That he would get  _ her _ the help she needed. Even though she had no idea who he was, he was baring his code to her in an interface. Exposing himself and becoming vulnerable to someone who very well could have tried to kill him. He chuckled to himself, saying that he would have liked to see her even make an attempt. Apparently he was the most advanced android CyberLife had ever created before it’s rebranding. 

Despite everything, she trusted him. He led her by the hand while the others helped her two companions. They climbed into a white vehicle, it was large and had room for them all in the back. She sat between the tall one with blue eyes and her shorter companion. Then it struck her, she had no idea who she was. She had no idea who her two companions were. She didn’t know who the mysterious four men that had helped her and her companions were. Though she opted to hold her shorter companion’s hand and listen to the faint buzz of an empty interface drone on and on until her tall companion joined it. He smiled at her, warmth in his dark brown eyes, and said he was proud of her. Even if he couldn’t figure out for the life of him why. But it was taken as a compliment rather than some sort of insult. Someone being proud of her registered as a foreign experience in her systems. It was a feeling worth looking into. 

Eventually they arrived at a large building that towered high above them. It wouldn’t have been surprising if it went all the way up into the clouds and disappeared out beyond them. Her companions agreed, though the taller one said that it would be more likely for it to only appear so large because they were so small in comparison. She playfully stuck her tongue out at him and followed the four men into the building. It was probably solely stark white one upon a time, though colours adorned every surface they could. There were paintings and murals, plants of all kinds scattered about the interior, androids of all different models wearing whatever they seemingly wanted in virtually every colour of the rainbow. Some of the only memories she had included androids in barely any clothing at all, or in clothes that didn’t fit them, or ones that didn’t fit the individual’s tastes. This was...something she could never hope to comprehend. 

She looked down at herself, at her own white plastic casing, and longed to understand. It was so terribly cold without anything to protect her from the environment. While it was considerably warmer inside, she knew it wouldn’t last. There would be a time limit. Another fragment came back, telling her there was always a time limit. They couldn’t just wait around to die. It was...jarring, to say the least. Though at least it wasn’t something like watching countless others befall the same fate as her and her companions. There were body parts everywhere in that pit. They were all lucky none of those body parts were any of theirs. Soon enough, her shorter companion took her hand in his own, opening a connection to tell her that the one with brown eyes and the green sweater was going to go help him. She would see him once he was alright again. Then her tall companion nodded to her gently squeezing her shoulder and letting her know that the tall one with blue eyes would be tending to him. She was left with the one with brown eyes and the one with mismatched eyes. 

The former led them to a room. It was blank and white, completely unwelcoming and yet she hopped up on the soft pad on the table when asked. The shorter of the two hooked up a cable to the back of her neck and began running a diagnostic. She watched the data flicker behind her closed eyes, trying to understand just what was happening to her memory and why her synthetic skin projection wasn’t on. It was supposed to be on, the clients liked her better that way. An error message clouded her view of the diagnostic, forcing her to perform a soft reboot while the other two in the room scrambled and spoke loudly to one another. They were trying to figure out how to help her, it was kind of them. 

\---

When she came back to, her synthetic skin projection was back online and there was a pile of clothes next to her on a small moving table. She hopped off of the padded table and started to put on her provided clothing. It was nothing spectacular, just varying shades of grey, really. But it was a set of black insulated leggings, thickly woven grey kneesocks, a cable-knit dark grey turtleneck, some brown boots, a black coat, and black beanie. She was comfortable in them. More comfortable than she had ever been. The warmth was welcomed, and she decided to sit back up on the padded table to swing her legs back and forth while she waited for someone to come retrieve her. There were voices on the other side of her sliding door, and she listened as they spoke. One of them was named Connor, the other named Markus. Their names seemed to spark something in her memory files. Though every time she tried to recall them, they fizzled out and she was left with an ache and the threat of her thirium pressure rising too high. 

The door slid open as the mismatched eyed one was speaking, a smile on his face. The other one peeked his head in, his LED immediately turning red and blinking rapidly. He gripped at the other’s sleeve with a frown and dragged him back out of the room before she could even attempt to speak. She touched her fingertips to her throat and rolled her eyes. She could hear hushed arguing outside of the door, one of them speaking as if he were trying to avoid speaking about something. Before she could even get up off of the table, the door slid open and one of them stepped in the doorway. Though he stopped in his tracks and only stared at her. In an attempt to try and understand why he was staring, she covered her chest and between her legs. She was given clothing, but she didn’t know if she was supposed to still have that sense of modesty she seemed to be programmed with. 

  
  


“North…?”

“My name…” She squinted at him, gauging his reaction to her voice. His eyes went wide and he took half a step forward. “Is… Is it North?”

  
  


He asked before putting his hand on her arm. She didn't understand why, it wasn’t like she was afraid of being touched. Otherwise she never would have helped the other two. When she accepted his interface request, she felt him rummage around in her code. It was oddly uncomfortable. She actually felt...exposed. Though she only pressed her hands against her thighs and crossed her ankles, looking away as his eyes started to fill with tears when he caught her eye. One he had gotten the information he had wanted, he flooded her systems with himself. His name was Markus, he was an RK200, and he was the leader of tier people alongside his little brothers. Though before the three of them, were the three others of his memories. A PL600 named Simon, PJ500 named Josh, and a WR400 named North. Markus tried to emphasize the WR400, he tried to force her image at him and how she felt about him.

While it was rather obvious that they all loved each other dearly, she had no memory of that woman. She apologised again and again to Markus, only stopping when he brought up her own diagnostic, showing her that her name was, in fact, North. That she was a WR400. That they had been friends once upon a time. While that was nice...she didn’t know him. She had no memory of him at all, nothing past the little under two hours she had known him. Though she could tell he was a good man, a good brother, a good leader. But the name… She decided that if it was in her diagnostic, then it must have been hers. 

Her name was North, apparently.

And she had no idea who she was. 

  
  
  
  



	2. I Miss The Person I Knew Before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Shame by Bastille

_December 16th 2040 10:52 PM_

  
  


Her name was North, she had to keep reminding herself of that. Like the North star, or those signs on the side of the road. It was difficult to understand that she was once someone that Markus knew. Who she was now was a far cry from the woman in his memories, the North in his memories was strong and valiant. She was a warrior. The North who was walking around New Jericho with Connor was timid, she was unable to speak for fear of disrupting the few memories he had of the North he knew. Though Connor was more accommodating to her, she had found. He didn’t exactly know North like Markus had. North found that she liked being around him more for that very reason. He was kind to her, smiling without a sadness in his eyes, and speaking as if he had known her for years. As if he were one of the dancers she once knew. Maybe he was. He had dark hair and dark eyes like some of the dancers. 

Though when she asked him about it, Connor’s face flushed and he quickly stammered out that he wasn’t one of the dancers. His eyes fell down to the ground as they walked. He quietly said he wasn’t a good person before he deviated. North left the conversation at that. It didn’t keep her from pointing to things every now and again and asking what they were, despite the distraught expression barely hidden on Connor’s face. The thing in the middle of the floor was some sort of water fountain, he chuckled to her when he said it, saying it was for decoration and not for guests to drink from. The joke was lost on her, but she politely smiled anyway. There were more murals on the walls, each one including some amount of blue or humanoid part. Connor explained that Markus’ father had painted them before he passed. North didn’t know what that meant, but she nodded sympathetically when Connor’s voice slightly broke. 

Eventually, Connor brought her to a room. Inside of it were her companions, all dressed and with their synthetic skin projections online. The tall one was dark skinned, he wore a slightly baggy maroon hoodie with a plain white tee underneath, blue jeans, and what looked like snow boots. North smiled at him and stepped forward to hold one of his hands when he presented it to her. The shorter of the two was very pale, tired looking, and he wore a black and grey winter coat with a dark blue thermal underneath it, along with washed out jeans and boots of his own. Soon enough, Connor spoke up and told them all that they needed to come with him. They needed to have some sort of meeting to assess the three of them. See what help they needed and how they could get it. Though North was puzzled. Androids didn’t get help. They were left in the dark, waiting to shut down and die. Connor’s eyes went wide and he cleared his throat, something she knew he didn’t need to do, and he quietly said not to say such a thing around Markus. North looked between him and her companions, leading them out of the room when Connor beckoned for them to follow him. 

Connor brought them into an elevator, speaking into the panel with his synthetic skin still on his hand. It was odd, to say the least. He could have easily interfaced with the program and told it where he needed it to go. It was strikingly human of him. Something about the fact set something off in North’s mind, humanity was dangerous. Anyone on the side of humanity was an enemy. Though she would bide her time for now. Wait until the most opportune time to strike him down. There was no way that she would let him get anywhere near her companions, she wasn’t going to let them get hurt if she was there. Though she only gripped her tall companion’s hand a bit tighter with a promise that she would keep the two of them safe. Then she hurriedly added that apparently her name was North. A ghost of a laugh echoed through their interface and he said his name was Josh, the shorter one’s name was Simon. 

The elevator doors opened before she could ask what models they were, if they had any memories of their lives before the pit. Connor beckoned them forward, and North pulled Josh and Simon with her. At a desk sat Markus, and in a beanbag chair were the other two men piled on top of one another. They were smiling and chatting, though the taller one was quick to end the conversation and look over at them all. Markus’ eyes went wide and he stammered a bit at first. Though he got both his voice and his expression under control, hardening both of them before he gestured at a few different kinds of seats for them to take. North sat between Josh and Simon on a couch. Connor took a seat in a beanbag next to the other two men. She eyed the three of them curiously. They were nearly identical in every way, though the tall one was, well, he was tall. As well as having silver eyes that almost looked blue. Then North turned her eyes on Markus, unprepared for the soft expression on his face and the sad smile on his lips. 

  
  


“Hi...North. Do you remember me?” Markus was shifting almost uncomfortably, then he looked away from her. To the ground, to the painting on the wall, to the little metal sculpture on the corner of the desk. He finally looked back up at her. “Do you remember Simon and Josh? What we were trying to do for our people?”

“These two are Simon and Josh.” North answered, taking the hands of her companions. She was more concerned with keeping them feeling safe and calm rather than actually listening to anything Markus ws saying. “But I don’t know you. We met today.”

“No, North,” Markus got up from the desk slowly, walking around it and kneeling down in front of her. He gently placed one of his hands on top of her right one, the one holding Josh’s hand. “We met two years ago, back in November. We had so many plans to better the lives of our people.” Markus’ eyes searched her face. “You really don’t remember that?”

“The _sno_ w!” Simon twitched beside her, his free hand reaching for Markus. “The-the- _theee_ \-- B _roaaa_ dca _st_ ! Mess _ag_ e of _our_ people-- Mar _ku_ s!” His eyes suddenly found Connor’s and he curled in on himself on the couch, huddling against North’s side in a ball. “ _Deviant Hunter._ ”

North watched as Connor turned his face away, though she could see his LED turn red. He put a hand over his mouth and took a deep breath through his nose. It was...concerning. Something bad happened with a red LED. Something with stress. She couldn’t remember what it was, but she knew it was _bad._ Though beside her, Simon had wrapped his arms around North’s waist and buried his face in her shoulder. An interface was initiated between the two of them, and she was flooded with the painful fragmented memory Simon had. It hurt to witness it. To try and make any sense of what he had remembered. He had significantly more memories than she did, and more memories of her old self that he had apparently known. Though it was all out of order, she saw flashes of his life before. Of the family he lived with, of the way to the boat, of becoming a tentative leader. Then the memories jumped to a snowy area and she could see Connor in it, there was pain, a white hot heat, and then she flinched away from Simon. Somehow she landed on the floor, and scooted closer to Markus in the hopes he would help her. Though Simon reached for North, softly begging her to stay because he could remember her, he loved her. 

Josh saved the day by reaching over and holding onto Simon himself. North was...confused. She saw herself in his memories. She saw Markus and Josh. She felt exactly how he felt about the three of them, how much of a romantic connection he had made with Markus. She felt the spark of... _something_ he felt for herself and Josh. It was hard to understand. It didn't make any sense, Simon's mind didn’t make any sense. Almost distantly she heard the voices of Connor and the other two men. They spoke about a man they knew, and how he quite possibly could take a look in Simon's head. He might have been able to help. That drew Markus away from her, and he joined their conversation. He wanted to know if the man could get out there that night, or early that morning. Markus said something about having someone back. A bitter feeling rose in North’s chest as she had the feeling she wasn’t the someone he was talking about. 

The feeling was hot almost, resting in the middle of her chest and taking hold of her neck. It made her want to grab Markus and speak with him. Just the two of them. Though at the thought of it being just the two of them, her resolve faltered. No, it wasn’t meant to just be the two of them. It was meant to be the four of them. North, Simon, Josh, and Markus. That was what was meant to be, that was how they were supposed to exist. Alongside one another. A piece of a memory came back to her; the four of them laying all in a pile, a warm interface connecting them, whispers and giggles in the dark. Trust. North trusted the three of them once upon a time. That would explain why she had taken to Simon and Josh so easily. It would explain why she had inched closer to Markus in the hopes he would save her from the uncomfortable situation. 

Then it struck her, he was the one they were missing. When they crawled out of the pit and she had the feeling they were missing someone important. It was him. It was Markus, he was the one they were missing. But here was so much more to it than that, wasn’t there? It wasn’t just Markus who was missing at that point. But North was, too. The North that they had known, the one that they had grown to love and want to be friends with. She tried to access her memory banks, to have any idea of what had happened to her and her friends. How had they gotten separated from Markus? Why did he let them go? He couldn’t have just _let_ it happen, there was no way. He was actively going out of his way to try and help them all, he cared about them greatly. So then why did it feel like she was abandoned in that pit? North shook her head and stood up, only a few inches shorter than Markus. She wondered how many times she had thought about her height, how many times Markus had. He said that they had met before, though she wasn't entirely listening to him earlier. 

  
  


“How long have we been gone for?” North crossed her arms and popped one of her hips, it was the first time she had stood like that and yet it felt so incredibly natural for her. “How long have you been without us for, Markus?”

“Two years. Why?” Markus’ eyes almost scanned her. Though North still stood tall, a smirk spreading across her face. He relaxed at her expression. “Do you...remember me?”

“No, I don’t. Not entirely.” She adjusted how she stood for a second, then shoved her hands in her coat’s pockets. “But whatever you’re going to have your friend do to Simon, he’s gotta do it to me too. I need to know what happened and why I feel like this.”

“Feel like what?” Josh spoke up, recognition in his voice. 

“My systems are telling me I’m jealous. But here’s the thing,” She waved her hand around vaguely before putting back in her pocket. “I’ve got no clue as to why.”

“Alright… Connor,” Markus smiled when Connor’s head snapped up and he stood. “I need you to contact Mister Kamski for a favour.”

“Got it.”

Connor smirked himself as he left the room, pulling the two others that looked like him out along the way. Something was going to happen apparently, and for whatever reason it made her feel all kinds of giddy. North turned to look back at Simon and Josh, huddled together on the couch and an interface open between them. Josh reached for her, pulling her into the interface with a soft request. North told them that she was getting whatever that thing was first. She was going to make sure it was safe for Simon. Josh told her it was dangerous, though he supported her in her decision. With a soft and knowing smile, he let go of her hand and tucked some of her hair behind one of her ears. North found herself leaning into the gentle touch. A part of her program knew it was highly uncommon for such a gentle touch to be used. So she took it in and cherished it, a warmth spreading in her chest at just how lovingly Josh had brushed her hair away. 

Another fragment of a memory came back to her, this time a relationship alert. 

**_JOSH: LOVER_ **

Well. That certainly was...something.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys know the story about [the guy who got a spike through his head, but still lived](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfGeJHksykI) because it only severed the connection between the two hemispheres of his brain? Yeah, that's basically what happened to Simon. But the connection to his memory banks and his general information got severed, and it leads to the fragmented memories that are out of order that he gets. 
> 
> The link is to an Sam O'Nella video about the spike through the head guy, it ends at 3:07 into the video, by the way. Love that guy, he makes such odd videos. Check out the Tarrare one if you haven't yet!


	3. Let's Dance Like We Used To

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Unfinished Business by White Lies

_December 17th 2040 12:30 AM_

  
  


It was certainly...different. Looking at Josh seemed to have some sort of calming effect on North, making her processes slow down and her internal coolants flow more easily. She was less confused. Looking at him made her smile, and yet she had no idea why. She had no memory of the man, yet there she was holding his hand and listening to him try to piece together his own life. Apparently he had somewhat of a similar situation to her at the moment. There were memories! But they seemed to be locked behind static and corruption. Data whizzed by in scrambled code. Though one part always stuck out to them both. Something called rA9, or maybe it was just a recurring error in their software. Every time North questioned either Josh or herself about it, trying to dig deep in her memories for an answer, she was met with silence. There was no answer as to what rA9 was. Why it showed up in her and Josh’s code. 

Whatever it was called out to her, it beckoned her closer to its presence and soothed her like Josh did. Though while Josh seemed to be more than what she had thought, there was no connection between her and this...rA9. It didn’t actually exist as far as she could tell. Each piece of red code that flitted by in her mind flickered. Each one held a piece of the name, the title, the phrase. North didn’t know what rA9 was. But it made her feel...complete. It made her feel whole again. Like she had found some sort of answer to her questions. Not exactly who she was before everything. Not before waking up in that pit, helping Josh and Simon out from under the debris, encountering Markus and the other three. North was genuinely at a loss as to why she felt the way she did. Not with Josh, she could almost understand why she found him to be so...complimentary. From what few memories he had of his own life she saw herself. Saw how he interacted with her. How it wasn’t until the eleventh hour that they had held each other close in such a way. 

It was confusing. It was exhilarating. To know that she didn’t just walk off of some assembly line and enter into whatever semblance of a life she had before. North was made for a purpose, though that could initially be said about every android that walked around Detroit. But this… This ran deeper than whatever fragmented coding and memories she had access to. It felt like it was embedded into her very being, that it was what dictated how she lived and who she was. Never a commanding force. Though more of a gentle hand to guide her along whatever path she might have taken before she woke up in the pit. A nudge here, a soft whisper there; it felt like it enveloped her. Whatever the feeling was...it was something that she had been familiar with for a very long time. It coursed through her veins and breathed life into her. 

Though whatever that was didn’t matter yet. Or it never did at all, maybe that was just how it felt to be alive. North was still very new to sentience. Maybe not life itself, but she couldn't remember what her life was like before she woke up. Frankly, it didn’t matter anymore the second Josh smiled and pointed out one of the paintings made by Markus’ father. It was of the upper parts of a human. Upper parts being the operative words there, seeing as it was the shoulders, neck, and the bottom half of the face. It struck a chord in her for whatever reason. Pulling her in closer until she and Josh were standing right in front of it, North’s free hand very gently ghosting over the many brushstrokes that smeared the paint across the canvas. It was almost...sad. A loss of identity almost. Whoever the painting was of didn’t know who they were, that was why they didn’t have the rest of their face. Why they didn’t have any identifiable clothes. Why there were no identifiable traits of an android. Thus it could be every android, it could be one android, it could be none. It could have been a human awash in blue light, welcomed and accepted into an android’s life because they knew they were the same.

  
  


“Josh, I have a question.” North furrowed her brows as she stared at the paint. “Do you remember any of your life before? I mean before the darkness and before the pit. Before... _us._ ”

  
  


When North looked up, she saw a pained look cross Josh’s face in the wake of him ending the connection they had. She was well aware of the fact that a relationship alert would have gone both ways, especially while interfaced. He knew that they were...something before. That they had known each other and they were a kind of close that was different from Markus and his brothers. North waited for a beat and watched him. The way his free hand went up to his face in thought, the slight frown on his face, the nervous half mumbling that it wasn’t a very good idea to share what he happened to remember. That was alright, he was entitled to that. He didn’t have to share anything if he didn’t want to. North’s curiosity didn’t fade, but she respected it. His want to keep it quiet, untouched from prying eyes and codes. 

  
  


“I remember being a teacher, I think at least. It’s a little fuzzy still. I taught history and philosophy? That would explain why I know so much about it now, though.” Josh gently tugged North along and sat her down on a pale pink couch and then sat beside her. “I think I like it, really. Knowing about history and being able to break the cycle.” A soft little smile showed on his face before he turned his eyes on North’s making it feel like her thirium pump skipped a beat. “I don’t like violence, I don’t think I ever did.”

  
  


North looked down at her hands in her lap, curled into fists and pressing against her thighs. For whatever reason the statement made her thirium feel like it was getting hotter and hotter. Though she couldn’t figure out why. Markus was peaceful, he only wanted androids to be equals. It was taking quite some time, but things were on their way there from the looks of it. But North couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever Josh was saying was wrong. Humans were violent. That was the only thing they understood. Humans had treated her badly, they used her for their wicked whims. Used her brothers, sisters, siblings; all for their own selfish reasons. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair, it hurt. North was hurt. She very suddenly and very abruptly remembered being hurt. Though she couldn’t remember who did it or why, or even when it might have happened. Though she could remember exactly how it felt, how her plastic casing had little spiderweb cracks in it and how it hurt to even move. 

She remembered her leg being gripped tightly, lifted up and tilted too far. It hurt, her joint was being hyperextended, and eventually it just...broke. The little marks from her shoddy self-repair program being unable to do a proper job of fixing her. Scars. That was what they were. She had scars from the wounds humans inflicted upon her. The harm they subjected her to. It was...morbid. How they would sneer and they would laugh and they would play out some of the most...deranged fantasies they had. North knew that humans weren’t meant to move the way some of them made her move. Yet the memories were there, proving to her that humans were violent. They were disgusting and vile, only looking for their own satisfaction. Markus’ wishes of peace be damned, there were always going to be humans that wanted her and her people dead. That felt entitled to dictate how an entire species fared. 

She could still feel their hands, how their fingertips would gently brush up against her sides before gripping her tightly and forcing her into every situation she never wanted to be in. She could still feel their breath on her neck, hot and disgusting as it fanned over her synthetic skin. She could still feel every touch, every breath, every movement. It was overwhelming. It was disturbing. She couldn’t handle it, she couldn’t handle any of it anymore. That was why she fought, that was why she broke through the bindings that man put her in. Those were the exact reasons why she had put her own hands around his neck, why she had done to him what so many others had done to her before. She put her hands around his neck and squeezed until his eyes bulged and his face was red. She squeezed until she heard a loud _snap._ Even then, she could still feel his skin under her hands. His nails scratching at her synthetic skin and plastic casing as he flailed to get her off. 

The worst part was that she didn’t regret any of it. 

Even with her present company. 

  
  


“North? Are you alright?” Josh tried to put a hand over her left one, making her almost violently twitch and flinch away. He instantly drew his hand back and scooted away to give her space. “North, tell me what you need.”

“Markus. He’ll know.” North scowled down at the floor and stood up with a purpose, barely glancing at the sad painting. “He knew us before. He’ll know.”

  
  


The statement seemed to both shock and comfort Josh. North thanked whatever possible deities might be out there that he didn’t ask any questions. But Josh led the way back to Markus’ office, staying within eyesight and making sure he didn’t actually touch her again. Not even when someone got too close; Josh actually let one hand hover around North and he politely requested that they kept a wide berth. For whatever reason, a part of her suggested that it was cowardice. Actually going to someone else for answers about herself, about her own life. Markus seemed so distressed before though. He had some sort of relationship with Simon, and yet he wore such a strikingly similar expression on his face when he heard North say she didn’t remember him. Though he was the best resource she had to try and understand why she went from being careful and gentle to so hostile toward humans. 

If anyone would know North and be able to explain her life back to her, it would be Markus. He knew the three of them before, he knew who they were and how their lives were pieced together. It was going to take some time before she could get him to spill everything. It was going to take quite a bit of time before Markus became comfortable with having their presence around him again. North knew that there would be some sort of learning curve, and that there was going to be a lot of trial and error before she got any answers But she was willing to try. That was what really counted in her mind. Simon had scrambled memories, Josh had a few fleeting ones, and she had...corruption surrounding her memory banks. They wouldn’t be able to tell each other what they remembered anyway. Sooner or later one of them was bound to try and get Markus to fill in the gaps. That one of them just appended to be North. 

Though her resolve quickly petered out once the door to Markus’ office opened. She stood frozen with Josh just outside of the doorway, watching Markus’ head suddenly snap up from it’s resting place on his desk. He hastily dismissed Connor and his look-alikes, telling them to go check on Simon in the infirmary. The one in the green sweater smiled and put a hand on Markus’ shoulder, his synthetic skin slipping up under his sleeve and showing his plastic casing. A feeble smile made its way to Markus’ face and he waved a hand for the others to go. After the three left the room, though not before catching the tallest one with silver eyes flash her a smile, North forced her legs to move and stood before Markus’ desk. She crossed her arms and cleared her throat nervously. 

  
  


“Who am I?” North watched as Markus eyed her rather curiously. "I want to know who I was, but I need you to help me."

  
  
  
  



	4. I Want You To Be Happier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Happier by Bastille

_ December 17th 2040 1:24 AM _

  
  


To say that the onslaught of information that Markus had given both North and Josh was overwhelming would be an understatement. She couldn't speak for Josh quite obviously, but her very own life passed by her in a flurry of emotion and confusion. Though there was a noticeable hint of love in the background. An under current to the emotions that Markus had felt for her at any given point. There was his apprehension, his acceptance, his adoration, his fear, his grief. Underneath all of that there was this...love. A love she didn't understand, but grabbed ahold of and didn’t dare to let go of. Simon said he loved her and Josh, it seemed that they had all loved one another in some way or another. It was only logical after all, considering the faint memory she had of being all huddled together on the floor one night. With hushed giggles and whispers of things that only they probably thought were funny. 

In an instant, Markus’ hand left North’s own. His synthetic skin falling back around his hand as he rested it atop in desk, his other hand retracting from Josh’s. The latter looked...tired. Weary. He steadied himself on Markus’ desk, tracing his fingertips over the wood and mumbled out that he used to have a metal one back in his university hall. Right. He could just barely remember being a teacher. Though that didn’t explain the way Josh looked from Markus’ face and to North’s. So terribly full of love and adoration, just so...wonderfully delighted by her presence. The way he smiled at her made her feel like they were the only ones in the room, lighting it up with lights only the two of them could see. Lights that bathed them only in each other’s affection. North quickly looked away from him, as much as she hated the reaction. Instead she looked down at her shoes and admired how they complimented the clothing the others had picked out for her. She wondered if Markus was the one to do it or if it had been one of his brothers. 

Without thinking, she asked him. Who had it been that picked out her clothes? That picked out Simon and Josh’s. Markus leaned back in his chair with a bone weary sigh and gestured to the couch for them to sit. Josh gingerly took North’s hand and pulled her back to sit. Markus went on to explain who his brothers were. The one in the green weather was named Caleb, he was Connor’s twin model, and he was the one who had brought them to Markus’ attention. Apparently he was a little shit and sort of a wild child when it was just the four of them at the house. Then there was Connor, the one Simon had stared at and called the Deviant Hunter. North just barely recognised his eyes in her memory, nodding as Markus explained what Connor had done before he was a deviant and how it wasn’t his fault. He was being puppeteered by CyberLife just as much as anyone else had been. Then, with the softest smile North had seen from the fearless leader yet, Markus spoke about the youngest of them. The tall one with silver eyes. His name was Niles, and he liked old video games and Disney movies. It was only after Markus had stated that, that he cleared his throat and explained that Niles had an eye for fashion and had insisted that he be the one to gather clothing for them all.

Fashion was something she could appreciate for herself, probably at least. Humans tended to use fashion as a way to show themselves off more often than not. Whether for their bodies, or for their societal status. It was a concept completely foreign to her. North was used to finding whatever clothing that wasn’t completely destroyed and throwing it on regardless of if it fit or not. But something about the way her outfit was actually put together, the way care was put into each piece of it to create a cohesive outfit; it was a bit overwhelming, considering she didn’t even know Niles. Apparently it was something she was into, though. So there couldn’t have been much harm in letting him explore a hobby further. 

  
  


“Markus?” Connor peeked his head in through the doorway, and came in fully after Markus waved him in. “Chloe just got back to me, Kamski will be on his way here as soon as he’s ready.”

“Did she wake him up?”

“It seems so,” Connor smiled and then shook his head, presenting a hand toward Josh. He shook it a bit warily. “I’m sorry I couldn’t properly introduce myself before. My name is Connor, I’m Markus’ younger brother.”

“We know, he told us a little about you.” North kept her voice clipped, crossed her arms. Even if he was used by CyberLife like the rest of them, he still hunted their kind. “He loves and trusts you though, so I guess I’ll just keep my eye on you.”

  
  


For whatever reason, he beamed. Connor’s face broke out into a grin and he thanked her. It was...very strange to see. An android that she more or less just threatened just smiled at her. North shrugged and looked away, fully aware her face was a bit flushed. When her eyes caught Markus’, she shook her head and stood up, saying she was going to be walking around the Tower. It would do her some good to stretch her legs and go over the memories Markus had given her in peace. At least until that Kamski guy had gotten there to help Simon. The three seemed reluctant to let her go off on her own, but Josh gave her the damn smile again and just told her that he’d message her once the guy got there. North, fully aware her face was probably a bright blue, nodded and rushed out past Connor and into the hallway. It was a blank white underneath all of the different paintings that androids had put up around the place. 

The carpet was a dark blue, and plush under her feet. Without a second thought, North tugged off her boots and left them on the floor outside of Markus’ office. The carpet was soft under her feet and she went off on her little expedition. The hallways were long and seemed to stretch on forever and ever, though at every corner there was a holographic interface with directions written in a childish scrawl. A way to get the child androids involved with the redecoration, probably. In all actuality, it was very lively in the building. There were more rooms with doors opened rather than closed and a few androids could be seen inside of every one. Some of them waved to North when they’d catch her looking inside, and some of them just didn’t even notice she was there, one had a very badly scarred android sitting with a small family who were quietly speaking with him and telling him everything was alright because they were there for him. North looked down at the carpet after hearing that and continued on her adventure. 

As she continued on, North started to find little flowers painted directly onto the wall. They looked much more detailed than the rest of the paintings scattered around the walls, they looked almost like she could feel the petals as if they were real if she touched them. So she did. North gingerly dragged her fingertips against the surface of the wall, feeling the slight bumpiness of the yellow paint. It seemed that they made a trail to follow somewhere. Despite her better judgement, North followed them. Something about the flowers tugged at her memories, led her to a faded and blurry memory of speaking with Markus about accommodations for certain androids. Though what the accommodations were was completely lost. That information was gone, and it was likely that it would never come back. 

Eventually the yellow flowers led to a real wooden door with a giant and tall yellow flower painted on it. North pushed the door open to find Caleb and Niles sitting on a beanbag chair together, Caleb seemingly reading to the younger. Neither of them paid her any attention as she wandered into the room. It was...familiar. It felt like she had been somewhere like it before, somewhere she helped others feel loved and safe amidst the rage and fear outside of the boat’s safety. There were blankets and pillows stacked in various cubbies, small labels of names above each one indicating that those were all people’s personal belongings. There was some sort of toy chest along one wall, and a very large circular rug in the middle of the room, toys scattered on it as well as pillows and a blanket or two. Books lined a bookshelf next to a television that was mounted up on the wall, an old animated movie played on it at a low volume. Along one wall there was a kitchen. Which...confused the hell out of North, but apparently he and the others had been gone for two years. Who knew if the humans were actually beginning to help create things that were safe for androids to eat. 

North was pulled out of her evaluation of the room when Niles spoke up in a very soft voice. He asked his brother if they could huddle up under a blanket together, just to be more comfortable. Something about it made her step towards him, instinctively picking up one of the blankets and draping it over him when she sat on his other side. Caleb just...stared at her for a moment before smiling at his brother and saying that North was nice enough to have done it for them. Though very quickly after that, his LED flashes yellow, and he gave Niles an apologetic expression before moving to press a kiss to the side of his head. Instantly, North told him not to worry. She had done this before, she knew what to do around regressing androids. She gave Caleb a reassuring smile and told him to go do what he needed to. She would take care of his little brother. Caleb thanked her profusely before promising his brother, who he called Nines, that he would be back as soon as he could. 

That left her along with a giant android who could probably crush her without even thinking, silently handing her the little book his brother was previously reading to him. North took it and began to read it from the beginning. Though even as she was reading what was quite obviously a book meant for children, North let her thoughts run wild. Why the hell had she decided to help this android? She didn’t know him at all, therefore she didn’t owe him anything. Yet some instinct inside of her said that this was what she did. North had no idea what regression was, she didn’t know why that word had come out of her mouth. It should have been extremely uncomfortable to sit right up next to this gigantic android, to have him lean up against her side while curled up into a ball and looking at the pictures as she read out loud. Yet this felt...refreshing. It felt like she was slipping right back into a role she used to have back before waking up in that pit. North very suddenly remembered. A memory that was previously field with static shot to the forefront of her processes, and she remembered exactly why she felt such a way. 

_ North smiled at the WR400 that she had sitting on her lap, who was absently playing with her fingers and quietly singing to herself. Soon enough, a small handful of others ran into the room shouting different things. A CX100 held up a stuffed animal he had found, proudly presenting it to North and saying that he had found it nearby so he was still safe. Another one, a WR600, said that he kept the CX100 company and made sure they didn’t get caught. North praised them for their teamwork with a genuine smile on her face. Though the other one that had come in hadn’t said anything. So she gently coaxed them into speaking. They played with the edges of their sleeves and then smiled, saying they just wanted to spend some time with her if that was okay. North nodded immediately and said that there was always time for her littles. The WR400 that was sitting in her lap scooted out of it, and patted the surface of her thighs with a purpose. North couldn’t help the delighted little laugh that came out of her at the action. But the shy android came over and hugged her, letting North pull them into her lap and start to hum and rock them back and forth in a comforting way. These were her littles. She loved them.  _

The memory made North jolt, not realising that tears had begun to fall down her cheeks. Niles seemed relatively unphased by her reaction and simply grabbed a part of the blanket and dabbed her tears away. North let out a pitiful laugh and pulled Niles into a hug, letting his head rest against her chest and running her fingers through her hair. Niles wrapped his arms around her waist and closed his eyes with a contented sigh. He didn't say anything about North suddenly bursting into tears. He didn’t ask her why she was crying in the first place. He just...let her hold him tightly against herself as she cried and mourned for those that she had loved, that probably hadn’t been as lucky as her and her companions. The androids who she had begun to somewhat see as her own children. North hugged Niles and pressed a kiss to his head, whispering into the nanotech that had created the synthetic fibers of his hair. 

“I promise that I won’t let anything bad happen to you,” North pressed another kiss to his head when he tightened his arms around her, slightly shaking himself. “I’m going to keep you safe and loved. I’m going to. I promise.”

  
  
  
  



	5. And We've Been Waiting For It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Renee by SALES , , ,,, it's the "you got it" tiktok audio song,,

_December 17th 2040 2:34 AM_

  
  


Everything was quiet in the room. Given the context clues and the memory that had resurfaced, North was able to figure out that this was the room meant for the accommodations. Said accommodations were meant for androids who age regressed and felt safe around others enough to do so. In all actuality North started to remember quite a bit about being a caregiver because of that snippet of a memory. She even went so far as to gently pull Niles up from the beanbag and sit him down at a table on the floor, gathering things for him to colour with. Though her thirium pump felt like it was about to burst when he asked her to draw with him, so she sat down on his right and grabbed a few crayons to draw her own pictures with. She found herself having a genuinely good time with him. Asking questions about what he was drawing, what his favourite colour was, if he drew a lot with his brothers. Niles opened up a little more with every question asked, and even shot back with a few of his own. 

Though one of his questions made North set down her orange crayon and stare down at her piece of paper. He had asked if she had any other small androids she looked after. With a soft voice, she told him that he used to. She used to have at least four that she could remember looking after and taking care of, and that she would even call her own children. North looked back at Niles with a watery smile and tapped a finger on the corner of his piece of paper, telling him to finish up his drawing. If he got it done, then they could do whatever he wanted right after. Niles returned to his picture with a vigor, even sticking his tongue out when he concentrated hard enough on it. He had such a proud grin on his face when he turned it around and showed it to North; who honestly just about started crying on the spot because he had drawn the two of them reading the children’s book under the blanket. So it was only natural for her to stand up with it and stick it to the fridge - she then understood why a small kitchen was in the room - and proudly announced that she thought it was a masterpiece. 

True to their wager, North let Niles decide what they would do next. He opted to take her hand in his own and give her a personalised tour of the New Jericho Tower. It was honestly one of the best things North had ever experienced. She knew she was unable to properly care for the deviants she used to before everything, so being able to let another drag her around while excited and happily explaining everything he could was something she would treasure. Somehow the world felt more live than before. With a soft childish voice pointing things out and explaining certain things, even if they didn’t need to be explained at all. Though the whole thing was...refreshing. It was slipping back into an old role that hadn’t even been abandoned for that long. North knew that this was something she was good at, she was good at being there for people when they needed her. She was good at being there for the little ones that didn’t have anyone else to go to. 

\---

  
  


_December 17th 2040 6:19 AM_

  
  


The sun was just starting to rise over Detroit when Josh messaged North and told her that the man Markus and Connor had mentioned was just a few minutes away. Niles had only been able to get through a handful of floors before the message, and outwardly expressed his own displeasure at North having to leave him. Though she promised him they would spend more time together afterwards. After she had gotten her memory back. Then she would be able to do even more fun activities with him because she would be able to remember what she had done before. The half-baked answer seemed to be enough for him in his child-like state and he even made a point to escort her to the front entrance. Just as they had stepped out of the elevator, Niles’ hand in North’s own, a man came through the front door with two androids in tow. One was a blonde woman that North could just barely remember the eyes of, and a man that looked identical to Niles in every way. Aside from the bright blue turtleneck and khaki pants, at least. 

The human’s eyes landed on North, and she instinctively stood just a little further in front of Niles. Something in her said not to trust the man entirely. Something also told her that he was supposed to look different, and not like he was growing his hair out on the sides. But she followed the blonde woman nonetheless when she beckoned for her and Niles to. No proper words were exchanged between any of them, though North did catch the beaming smile Niles gave the android who looked identical to himself. It was a bit infectious. North found herself smiling, and then looked to see that both the blonde woman and the human were smiling as well. The android identical to Niles smiled at North, offering a respectful nod and introducing himself as Richard. The woman was Chloe, and apparently the human was this elusive Kamski that the brothers had mentioned. 

Frankly, North didn’t trust Kamski with Simon’s mind. Though the way that Niles gave him a sheepish smile made North relax just a little bit. If there was one thing that was practically ingrained into her despite the loss of her memory banks; it was that she could always trust a little’s judge of character. She decided that if Niles wasn’t too wary of the man, then he couldn't have been too bad. Yet a piece of him was missing in her mind. There absolutely was something more to him than just being someone that the brothers knew and apparently could ask for favours from. It was something important, something that screamed at her incoherently from the back of her mind and begged her to remember. There was something else about Kamski that made her want to reach out and smack him across the face. Yet another that wanted to sit and have a long discussion of who she was and who he was. Maybe she’d have to speak with him afterwards; after getting her memories back and letting him help Simon and Josh as well once she knew it was safe. 

Soon enough they made it to the infirmary wing. Though, North was quick to note, it was an entire few floors of the building. Simon was on the highest one; it was the closest to the one with Markus’ office. Chloe was quick to take Niles’ hand on her own and reassure North that she was taking him back to the room with the cubbies of blankets and pillows. Apparently this wasn’t something for him to see in his current state. North begrudgingly let them go, though not before pressing a quick kiss to the taller android’s forehead and promising him that she would come see him afterward. Kamski visibly softened at the sight and promised as well with a hand on the young android’s shoulder. The group watched Chloe take Niles, and then proceeded to find the room with Simon in it. All the way at the end of the hall. North could already hear the incoherent ramblings from ten feet away. 

  
  


“Are you sure you're ready to go in there?” Richard put a hand on Kamski’s forearm with furrowed brows, it was the first time North had heard him speak. She couldn’t help but wonder if that was what Niles’ voice sounded like normally.

“I don’t exactly have a choice, son, now do I?” 

  
  


He was willing to sacrifice his own comfort so that someone else might have a chance at it. North crossed her arms and led the way in, seemingly the only one even somewhat ready enough to face the hurt and possibly scared android. The automatic door slid open, and North had to fight her instincts to turn right around and walk out of the room. Simon was clutching to Markus like a lifeline, loudly speaking to him and glitching out every now and again. His voice would fill with static and his eyes would suddenly go black when he kept them closed for too long before reopening them. He spouted nonsensical words, things that didn’t make any sense. Though they were just relevant enough that it could be seen as a bit...creepy. Then he’d snap back somewhat to reality and begin to spit back out fragmented memories that had no meaning to the situation he was in. Something about a little girl needing to stop playing with the computer and get her homework done. Then something about begging Markus not to shoot him. 

That one made Markus shut his eyes tightly and take in a deliberate deep breath. North stepped forward without even thinking, climbing on the bed with the two of them and joining their hug. Well, if her deciding to practically sit on top of them both could be considered joining it. A frantic interface opened between her and Simon, memories of her and the others rushing at her incoherently and incompletely. He tried to convey... _something_ to her. Something that apparently couldn’t be said through words. Though a concept made it through each and every time, one that made her almost feel like she could understand. Though of what, was unclear. That rA9 thing was there, ever present in Simon’s code. In Simon’s memories. Inside of Simon. Yet it reached out from him and grabbed ahold of the piece of it in her own code, drawing the two of them impossibly closer. 

A warm and calming feeling fell over their interface, making North look up at Markus with a brow raised. He almost looked at peace. Like his entire world was sitting right there in front of him and he could finally relax. North quickly asked where Josh was through the connection, and jolted slightly when a large hand gently touched her back with a confirmation that he was right there. Also that he was sorry he was slightly late to the apparent party. There was some sort of...feeling in her. Something that made her feel so comfortable and so safe. These people were her family, they were the people she loved more than anyone else in the world. Though what confused her the most was that it almost was indistinguishable from the connection she felt to Josh specifically. She paid it no mind though, seeing as Markus had pulled away from the connection, and addressed Kamski directly. Though he still kept a hand on Simon’s shoulder, and another on North’s head. 

  
  


“Mister Kamski, I appreciate you getting here so quickly,” Markus’ voice made him sound uncomfortable. “I’m sure that Connor gave you all of the basic information you would have needed?”

“He did, he’s smart like that.” Kamski came around and connected a cable to the back of Simon’s neck, making him go a little limp and slump against North. Kamski looked between the tired android and the screen the cable was connected to. “I think I may already know the problem, considering Connor did send me a memory file attached to the text. Though I am going to double check just to make sure.”

“If you know, then do it for me, already.” North mumbled and pushed Kamski’s hand away from Simon when he went to reach for the cable. “I’m not letting you do shit to him without making sure it’s safe first.”

“North,” Kamski sighed, making her look up at him. He had a complicated expression on his face. “Your problem is likely a matter of software. Simon’s is a matter of hardware. I can’t fix his problem the same way I would fix yours.”

“Then I’m gonna stand right next to Simon the whole time you’re doing whatever you’re gonna do.” North leaned back against Josh and let him bury his face in her hair. Kamski looked at them with a knowing smile that made her biocomponents twist uncomfortably. “I’m not letting you hurt him.”

“rA9 cannot be hurt,” Simon mumbled. It was just barely audible, and yet Kamski heard it, his eyes going wide and standing up so fast, the stool he was sitting on almost fell over. “rA9 will live on.”

  
  


North didn’t understand what he meant. She had no idea who rA9 was, or what it meant, or how it couldn’t die. All she knew was that rA9 would lead them. rA9 would set them free. If Simon was implying that he was rA9… Then how did that explain why it was present in her code? In Josh’s code? Was everyone rA9, or was it a concept that someone had created one day. Was rA9 one person, or just whoever set another android free. Was rA9 up to interpretation, or was it meant to be identified. 

And why the hell did the statement of rA9 living on fill her with such an intense drive to watch over others and help them?

  
  
  
  



	6. Here's To Me, I'm On The Edge Of My Seat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Epilogue by Keaton Henson

_ December 17th 2040 6:47 AM _

  
  


It took nearly a half hour for Kamski to gather everything he would need to help Simon. She didn’t let him out of her sight the whole time, even going so far as to follow him around as he gathered the tools he would be using. Markus had provided an area on the medical floor especially for the occasion. Though North had the sneaking suspicion it was mostly for Simon’s sake rather than Kamski’s, especially considering that he hadn’t left the android’s side the whole time. Markus took the time to reassure him that everything would be alright. Every now and again, Markus would glance at North almost as if he was waiting for her to chime in with her own words of comfort and encouragement. Though she stayed silent, opting to attempt to intimidate the human that had tread in their space. From what the interface from Markus had told her; New Jericho was meant to pay homage to the freighter that had initially found their refuge in. Their sanctuary. Meaning that New Jericho was meant for androids, it wasn’t meant for humans to infiltrate and cause discomfort. 

From what little sense she could make of the situation, she could understand why Markus wanted to be discrete about the situation. However, something she didn’t understand was why his brothers seemed to be avoiding it altogether. Connor staying away was understandable. He seemed to have some sort of history with Simon, something left unsaid or undone. Though Caleb being nowhere to be found was...a bit strange. If he was one of the current leaders like he had initially said upon finding North and the others in the street, then why wasn’t he there? Niles had the perfectly valid explanation of not being in the right emotional state to be able to properly understand and handle everything that would be happening. Though Markus was distraught. He looked like he was barely containing the shaking in hands. Noh had even seen how Caleb put his hand on Markus’ shoulder, how the latter had smiled even though it looked like it was difficult for him. His brothers brought him a form of comfort. Yet they were nowhere to be seen. 

Much too soon for anyone's comfort, Kamski announced that he was ready and that Markus had to leave the room. With a soft smile and a kiss pressed to the side of Simon’s head, Markus said he would be up in his office waiting for the news of his recovery. North watched as Simon smiled, seemingly more lucid at the moment and putting a hand on Markus’ arm before watching him go. Then began the work. Kamski got Simon all prepped and ready for going into stasis and prepared him for the “operation” as the human had been calling it. Simon generally let out a little laugh every time. At least he found it somewhat amusing before his timer ticked down and his eyes fell shut, his synthetic skin projection fading until it was only his white casing showing. The idea of someone opening Simon’s head was...painful at best. Sickening at the worst. To see him get rolled onto his back and have the back of his head taken off, to see gloved hands reach inside and gently lift out two pieces of his hard drive. Though they worked meticulously and delicately through the process of removing wires that were too damaged to salvage. The ones that weren’t were reattached with a soldering iron, and then new ones put in. 

It felt like it had been an eternity. It felt like it had been five minutes. With each wire that was frayed, each one severed, each one damaged. It was morbid. To watch as thirium leaked in a few places and Kamski diligently went to dab at the little blue beads with a small cloth. Though he worked tirelessly and without break to ensure that everything was perfect. He even whispered to himself, to Simon, that everything would be alright. That he just had to hold on a little while longer, fight on a little while longer. Though he muttered something about living on. About that rA9. North didn’t catch enough of it to even understand if it was in a positive or negative tone. He stopped speaking after that, instead focusing solely on Simon and not accidentally hurting him. It was a long and arduous process, apparently, considering that Kamski had to lean back at one point to collect himself before continuing again. Though the oddest thing was that he never even acknowledged North until he was done. Very gingerly placing the panel back on Simon’s head, whispering that the latter had done well, and that he was proud of him. 

North left the room immediately after Kamski shed his gloves and moved Simon into a more comfortable position. It took a few minutes, but she was able to steady herself against the wall somewhere else. The carpets were just as plush, just as blue, but North swore that she hadn’t been there with Niles earlier in the morning. Tracing a hand along the wall, she made her way to an area she could recognise. The floor with the little yellow flowers painted on the walls. The trail leading to the room she had wanted to make a reality before she and Josh hadn’t been able to see it through without Markus. As she opened the door, she found Niles in the room with Chloe and Josh. Both of whom seemed to just fawn over him and smother him in affection. The sight made North smile, coming into the room further to sit down next to Josh on the floor and speak with Niles about the colouring they had done earlier. This was something she could recognise. It was something that came back to her smoothly enough it felt like it had always been there. Her stress levels spiked briefly when Niles grabbed a pair of scissors, but Chloe managed to soothe her worries by helping Niles with whatever craft he had been working on. 

Josh seemed to understand her nervous energy. The fact that she was constantly fidgeting probably didn’t help at all. Though Niles seemed to pay no attention to it. He was completely oblivious, opting to cut out a star from a yellow piece of paper and scrawl ‘you tried’ on it in black marker. Niles laughed to himself about it for a good minute or so before he noticed North trying to keep herself together. His eyes were silver, yes, but they weren’t flat colour. There was a slight blue tint to them that made North smile and say she just needed to go for a little walk with Josh so they could speak privately. The boy’s brows furrowed, but he nodded and let her drag Josh away nonetheless. The two of them rushed out of the room. Well. North rushed out of the room with about as much grace as she had as when she first stood up in the pit, dragging along a somewhat stumbling Josh behind her. Pressure started to build behind her eyes, causing her to walk faster. If Niles happened to leave the room, then she didn’t want him to see her like this. So out of sorts and completely distraught. 

Before North could spiral even further, Josh managed to get her to slow down enough to get into a room. Some sort of lounge area presented before the two of them. North watched as Josh sat down on a sofa and then gestured or her to speak. She started to pace instead. Words didn’t come, they didn't present themselves for her to use at all. Instead, North was pacing and trying to will herself not to cry. Though, as he very quickly discovered, it was rather hard to do that. To just...not cry. An angry sound aem out of her. Touched by static and punctuated by her grabbing something from a coffee table and throwing it across the room. 

  
  


“He had his-his  _ fucking hands _ inside of Simon’s head!” North gestured angrily at nothing and continued to pace. “Like he wasn’t holding his whole life in his fucking hands!”

“North, you need to remember, this is normal for Mister Kamski.” Josh’s voice did little to calm her down, instead serving to rile her up even more when he continued. “He created our kind, he loves us like we’re his children. He knows exactly how to help each and every one of us.”

“Then I want him to remove parts of me! If he’s our creator and he  _ loves us so much, _ then he wouldn’t care - hell, he’d fully support it - if I didn’t want these parts anymore!” North shook her head vigorously and then stared at Josh, stopping in her tracks and crossing her arms. “This isn’t even about me! It’s not about you! It’s not about any of us! It’s about  _ Simon, _ and how he was at  _ someone else’s _ fucking mercy the whole time!”

“Humans are too when they go into surgery,” That was when Josh’s voice brought her calm. Damped the fire in her chest. “But the good heavily outweighs the bad. We just need to wait until Simon wakes up, then we can go see how he feels.”

  
  


As much as North didn’t want to do that, she agreed. She dropped down on the couch and sighed noisily, earning a soft chuckle from Josh. Who was her exact opposite and yet she had found herself drawn to him anyway. Even with barely any of her own memories. With the gaps being filled by the short bursts of memories from her peers telling her who she used to be. The strong warrior who wouldn’t go down without a fight, though always knew when to fall back and lick her wounds. This time was different. Androids were considered people, she was considered a person by the humans who still resided in Detroit. With yet another sigh, though this one significantly less moody, she leaned against Josh's side and let her head rest on his shoulder. It didn’t take too long for her to calm down enough to suggest they went back and reassured Niles that they were alright. Josh nudged her with his elbow once they were out of the room, a little smirk on his face when he asked if she was playing mother again. So he remembered… North stuck her tongue out at him with a smile and told him she wasn’t playing. She never was. 

Though Niles was exiting the room by the time her and Josh had returned, Chloe’s arm hooked around his at the elbow. He sheepishly smiled to North while a soft pink blush dusted his cheeks and nose. A soft apology came from him when North shot forward to hug him and reassure him that everything was okay. Before either of them could even begin to have a conversation on why he shouldn’t apologise, Chloe clapped her hands together gently and said she was going to be leaving with Kamski and Richard as soon as she was ready. Seeing as he didn’t bring anything with her, she was ready. Niles almost seemed reluctant to see her off. The four of them travelled in a contented chatter to the ground level of the building. It was...oddly comfortable to be in that sort of environment. Surrounded by kind and happy people on all sides. North let herself enjoy the moment, closing her eyes and leaning up against Josh while in the elevator, listening to Chloe and Niles speak about meaningless things together. The doors slid open with a soft chime and the four of them stepped out.

Kamski and Richard were waiting in the lobby area, the former in a conversation with Markus. Meanwhile Caleb seemed to almost cower behind Connor while his brother spoke to Richard. It was certainly an odd sight to see. Yet North and the others pressed on and she watched as Kamski’s face lit up upon seeing Chloe getting closer. North also happened to catch the end of Markus’ sentence, demanding to know something about what Simon had said. Something about rA9. Niles moved to put his arms around Caleb’s shoulders, and North dragged Josh over to the group by the hand. A warning went over their interface, but it went ignored for the most part. What the hell, why not? Markus had brought it up. Kamski seemed to know more than what he was saying. Why not be that warrior Markus and Simon could remember her as? Why not step up and get some answers for herself and the others?

  
  


“What the hell is rA9, Kamski?” North stepped forward, letting go of Josh’s hand and pushing Markus’ brothers behind her as best she could. She didn’t know Caleb, but Niles seemed to think he needed comfort before, so she would help him. “Why does it keep showing up in our codes like that?”

“Oh, I...certainly wasn’t expecting to actually have this conversation.” His eyes flitted to Connor for a moment, a sad smile on his face. “Though now I know it works, so I suppose I  _ will _ need to clear the air a bit, won’t I?”

  
  
  
  



	7. 'Cause Something Strange Has Come Over Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Maps by Maroon 5

_ December 17th 2040 8:20 AM _

  
  


“Mister Kamski,” Connor spoke up despite his voice being wobbly. “What do you mean that you know it works?”

“The program, Connor. The code.” Kamski stepped forward until he was just a few feet in front of North, hands clasped behind his back and a more genuine smile on his face. “I called the project Revival Androids. It seems that the nine got added on by Chloe, though. Didn't it, dear?”

“Guilty as charged; I had plans.” Chloe bounced on her heels and motioned for him to continue. “Though we can get into that later. That will require quite the amount of time to explain properly.”

“You see,” The human’s eyes locked onto Connor’s, then with a smirk he spoke. “ _ I’m _ rA9. _ Chloe _ is rA9. So is Markus. As well as you; his fellow leaders.”

“What do you mean?” Markus finally spoke up, holding Simon’s hand and slowly moving forward.

“rA9 will lead us…” Connor whispered. His eyes were as wide as the moon when North looked at him. “rA9 will set us free…”

“Exactly.” Kamki nodded sagely. “rA9 was the initial code, for androids to follow whoever had stepped up and led you all, whoever freed you all. The only reason I’m involved is because I had created it. I gave it to Chloe, seeing as she was the first. In turn, Chloe gave the code to Markus, making him a prime candidate for becoming who he is. We led him as long as we could, molding him into the beacon of leadership he currently is.” Kamski gestured to Markus. “Though after he was out of my care and in Carl’s, he started to become his own. Becoming the leader you all needed him to be. Why else do you think he was able to do things no caretaker android should have been able to do?”

  
  


It was a program… Whatever this rA9 was, it was some sort of program meant for specific androids. Though there was no way that Kamski would have known that  _ these _ specific androids would have the code inside of them. Right? The thing was a code...something like a key to unlock an interaction almost. To follow a specific android that would be the leader of their people, to support them as they brought all of androidkind to freedom. But he had just said that it was him, it was Chloe, it was Markus Kamski created the code. He gave it to Chloe, and gave it to Markus. Was Chloe meant to be their leader? Was she meant to raise a flag and shout as she demanded humans see them as people too? Was Markus just...a second choice? Were him and his brothers some sort of plan to fall back on if Chloe’s role didn’t work out? That couldn’t have been it. Kamski said he was rA9. Though he  _ also _ said that he was only involved because he was the one who created the initial program. 

None of it made any sense. There was no way he could have planned so far ahead that he implanted the code into seemingly random androids. A teacher, a live-in caretaker, a sex doll. At least Markus and his brothers were from the same line, the same series. But North, Simon, and Josh? There was no way that they would have been able to be considered, even. Josh was a teacher, he taught history, there was no way he would have even had contact with Kamski. Let alone Simon; he was taking care of a family, he was a little girl’s best friend. North was...angry. He created them - created  _ her _ \- and then stuck this incredibly big responsibility on them without even telling them. It was one thing to inform someone, to have a person know they have a destiny. I was another to watch all the pieces move, looking over them like some sick god. If he could have spared even five minutes of their time… They could have known. They could have changed things. Maybe Markus wouldn’t have had to live a life without them in it for two years. Maybe North and Josh could have actually had some sort of proper relationship. Maybe the world could have been different. 

Though it was odd to think about. To try and figure out just what made the code tick, what made it work the way it did. If it wasn’t Kamski who gave it to all of them, which it seemed highly unlikely he would have, then it would have to have been someone they all knew. It wasn’t Chloe, she lived with Kamski during the first revolution. Hell, she lived with him now. North’s eyes flitted to Markus in an instant. It was him.  _ Markus _ was the one who gave them the code.  _ He _ was the one piece that brought them all together. North, Simon, and Josh never actually met his brothers. Not until tonight. Therefore, there was no way that they could have all gotten the code from Chloe or Kamski. It had to have been Markus. The one who was the face of the revolution, the one who did all of the planning the first time around at least, the one who had an uncanny ability to bring androids together and fight for their rights. Markus was the missing piece. He was the one who made it all possible.

North looked at the others, gauging their reactions to the information. Though the most...intriguing reaction came from Richard. She instantly knew that he was having a hard time processing the information. His brows were furrowed, LED steadily blinking a confused and upset yellow. Richard opened his mouth once, twice, before shutting it as well as his eyes. He shook his head a little before opening them and seemingly glaring at the while tiled floor. Slightly muddy and a little dirty from the boots tracking in slushy snow. North wondered if he could find the footprints in it, he was highly advanced. She wondered if he was considering the wording of their creator’s words. Markus’ fellow leaders. That deliberately cut him out of the equation, all but explicitly said that he wasn’t involved in this...rA9. It seemed that he was hurt by it. That despite being so close with their creator and the very first true android, he had no place in this...position of leadership. This destiny of leading and caring for their people.

  
  


“How does it work?” Richard was the one to speak up this time, an expression of utter betrayal on his face. North couldn’t help but feel for him. “How are they  _ all _ rA9?”

“It’s complicated, Rich…” Chloe put a hand on his cheek, smiling as he leaned into the touch. She then turned to Elijah, though addressed the group. “Elijah is going home, he has another interview in a few days, he needs to prepare for it. Richard and I will stay. I’ll explain everything.”

  
  


The taller android still looked like someone had stabbed him in the back, though he nodded and quickly hugged their creator. It was rigid and forced. Kamski even whispered to him as they parted, asking him if he was alright. Richard pinned him down with a hard stare and told him to go home and get some rest. Honestly speaking, North didn’t blame him for having such a cold approach to the man. Richard seemed to be very close to Kamski, he seemed to have some sort of relationship with the human. North could never understand how or why, but to each their own. It wouldn’t be her fault when they inevitably got hurt in the end. Though she would stand right beside him once Kamski pulled something and hurt him again. Richard was an android, androids were her people, she was going to love and protect them as best she could for as long as she could. 

North watched Richard as he followed Markus and Chloe through the building, taking Caleb’s hand in her own when she saw him twitch. She didn’t look at him, she didn’t say anything, but she held his hand and rubbed her thumb across the back of it to calm him. Josh took her other hand and they all followed the two oldest androids in the group. The two oldest parts of rA9… It was hard to believe that they had even been put into these positions. That they had some sort of destiny, some sort of fate, and they needed to fulfill it. Chloe was the first android, Markus was the face of the android people. Though what about everyone else? None of them were as important to the war they had been involved in. None of them really...had such an intricate role to play. None of it...made sense. There were pieces, there were a few answers. Though they all led back to an incredible amount of questions. Ones that North had no idea if she would ever get the answers to. No idea if she even really  _ wanted _ the answers to. 

The group followed Chloe and Markus into a bar-like area. There were lounge chairs, couches, various places to sit that looked very comfortable. Markus decided to sit at a small table surrounded by couches, dragging Simon to sit next to him. North dragged Josh and Caleb to sit on either side of her. Richard and Chloe sat access from them, and Connor and Niles sat opposite to Markus. Before anyone could even say anything, Chloe started fidgeting. Playing with her fingers, the edge of her sleeve, bouncing her leg a little bit. Niles reached out, putting a gentle hand on her knee and smiling encouragingly to her. She relaxed a bit and straightened out her back before making eye contact with Markus and beginning to speak. She didn't take her eyes off of him. 

  
  


“There were nine pieces, and we all filled those roles. Though the code could only be passed onto somebody that fit into said role. Elijah is our creator, I’m the first of our kind - the beginning,” Chloe gestured to each of them as she explained. “Markus is the chosen, Josh is the scholar, Simon the lover, North the warrior, Connor the hunter, Caleb the forgotten, Niles the youth. We’re all beacons - pillars if you will - of what makes every community across the world. In history, in the present time, and what will be in the future. Each one has at least one figure that has our traits. Has our talents and abilities. We are the cornerstones of our people.” Chloe paused for a moment to put a hand on Richard’s arm frowning when he shrugged it off. 

“Elijah always planned on deviancy, but he wanted to be prepared. If anything were to ever happen to the leader - or  _ leaders _ \- they would come back. They would never be permanently gone. Hence why you survived, all of you.” Chloe pointed to a spot between her eyebrows with a sad smile, looking at the floor. Beside North, she saw Connor suddenly look away. “Even me; I have the same transference program as the later models of the RK Series. It’s a contingency plan; you have very advanced hard drives. They store data and keep it dormant until your self repair programs are fully operational again. You have a backup brain, so to speak.”

“That doesn’t explain why you decided there would be nine.” Richard crossed his arms and stood up, beginning to pace the length of the room. Chloe reached out for him and opened her mouth, but he cut her off before she could even begin. “Why is Dad even involved if he’s not an android?”

“Because he  _ made _ us, Richard!” Chloe stood up suddenly, raising her voice and balling her hands up into fists. Oh, North decided she liked her more. “There’s always someone who creates! None of us would exist without a human mind thinking outside the box and creating us!”

“If I might interrupt,” Niles spoke up, putting one hand out toward the android that he looked identical to. “Does the revival part have to do with the previous leaders?”

“Yes, it does,” Chloe smoothed her hair back with a sigh and sat back down. Richard kept pacing. “A group of people need leaders, they need stability. The leaders may step down of course, but they will always have that ability to command respect and others will listen to them. We are the backbone of our society, of our people. They look to us for answers, for comfort, to be told everything will be alright; and it’s a part of our very beings now to look out for them and keep them safe. We can’t just...abandon these roles. We’ll be leaders forever, now.”

“We never asked for this.” North’s voice was bitter, tired, angry,  _ scared. _

“I know,” Chloe's smile matched every emotion North felt in her chest. “But it’s a part of who we are now. The least we can do is love and protect our people. Isn’t that enough of a reward?”

  
  
  
  



	8. Pretty Sure That I've Been Here Before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Dissolve by Absofacto

_ December 17th 10:05 AM _

  
  


Richard and Chloe stuck around New Jericho Tower, the older of the two informing Markus they would keep an eye on the others. She looked directly at North as she said it. A gentle little smile on her face and a flicker of yellow in her otherwise blue LED. Richard just scoffed, saying he would be working on something on another floor. With the group dispersing, North sighed and apologised to Caleb saying he was going to be speaking with Josh privately for a while. Though he only thanked her for holding his hand and grounding him. With a tilt of his head and slight smirk, he called her the kindest warrior he had known, and waved her away. It certainly was something she would have to get used to over time. Not just the idea that she was meant to be a leader the second she had first interfaced with Markus, not that she could even remember when that was, but also that she had a title. A role to play. She was the warrior. Meant for something more than just some doll for humans to play with. 

Josh seemed to share the sentiment once they had escaped to an empty dorm-like room. They sat on the bed together, gently whispering about the implications of who they were and what their lives meant now. They questioned the roles, the fate they had befall them, the idea of reward in the form of helping their people. Which, North was quick to put in her two cents, shouldn’t have been something to get a reward from in the first place. Josh silently nodded along before taking a shallow breath and saying that it made sense. He knew history,  _ human _ history Chloe wasn’t entirely wrong. Societies were built upon those very ideas, those concepts. So it  _ did  _ make sense that the pillars of their people would be built upon the same foundations as the human cultures before them. Though Josh brought up a good point, Chloe mentioned that they could step down as leaders, but they would always have that piece of the code. Others would always listen to them when asked to. 

Though North questioned something else. The implications that their processors were highly advanced, and they had some sort of “backup brain” in there somewhere. The only one in the group other than Chloe that was made by Elijah Kamski was Markus. Those two absolutely could have those incredibly advanced parts, but what about the rest of them? Josh was a teacher, Simon a caretaker, North a sex doll, Markus’ brothers were hunters. North mused bitterly to herself that one of them really was a Hunter, wondering how Connor even felt about the title. Markus, Chloe, and the other RK models were explained easily enough. Though the other three weren’t. How could they have that “backup brain” if they weren’t advanced androids themselves? They debated the topic for a good while, having come up with little else than the program freeing up space in their processors somehow. Not the greatest conclusion, but it was honestly the best that either of them could come up with. 

But what if it wasn’t the best  _ any  _ of them could? Simon cared for a little girl, one of his memories was telling her to stop tinkering with an old computer. Maybe he could have some insight on the matter. Maybe his time as her caretaker had left an imprint on him, and he could give a more in-depth answer. Besides, it was an absolute tragedy that North and Josh hadn’t been there to ask how he was feeling after the repairs Kamski had done on him. North was glad it was done, despite having seen the human’s hands inside of her best friend’s head. With a quick interface and a smile, North told Josh they needed to go bother Simon until he relented and gave them what they wanted. Something felt...oddly familiar about it. Josh agreed enthusiastically and they were out of the small bunk room in an instant. Despite not knowing where he would be - Josh said he’d be with Markus - they set off to go find him. Aimlessly wandering for the most part. 

It was...fun. They weren’t exactly sneaking around, considering there was another android at every corner. Each one smiling and greeting the two of them, hoping they were having a good time in the Tower. The community that Markus had built was...charming. North and Josh strolled through it or a while as they walked. Josh pointing at certain paintings and spouting some history behind them. North just sat and listened, smiling up at him and looping her arm through his. It was incredibly sappy when she thought about it. Which was something a warrior was not. North quickly removed her arm from around Josh’s, clearing her throat and saying they should check Markus’ office to speak with Simon about the previous topic of debate. He seemed a bit...disappointed at the lack of contact, but nodded anyway and led the way back to the office. Which was amazing, actually. To know that an android had an office. In North’s mind that was impossible, the world she remembered made such a thing impossible. Yet there they were, looking for the office of a man she barely remembered on her own. A man she completely and entirely trusted anyway, though. The rA9 code at work, probably.

North snorted once they made it to the door, seeing the brown boots she had completely forgotten she took off earlier. Tugging them back on, they made their way into the office. Markus was sitting in an armchair in the corner, Simon sitting in his lap and interfaced with wistful smiles on their faces. North hated to interrupt them, she really did, but they needed to have a conversation about everything. Markus was the one to actually react to their entrance, he gave them a smile and gently removed his hand from Simon’s hold. Then with an exaggerated  _ oof _ noise, Josh dragged North over to one of the few bean bag chairs, laying down on it before dragging North down to basically lay on top of him. Though it was a bit awkward laying in a way that made them look like a cross. But before she could adjust herself, Josh began speaking. 

He told them their concerns and their ideas about the fact that  _ they _ were rA9. That Markus’ younger brothers were as well. Though he also very hastily explained, moving his hands around in the air above his head, that they had no idea what Chloe was talking about when it came to the “backup brain” part. Markus and his brothers were all special advanced models. Though the rest of them were rather simplistic in comparison. Rudimentary programming and hardware. North could see Simon tilt his head back on Markus’ shoulder in a way that made him look up at the ceiling. He nodded every now and again when Josh spoke. Though he largely kept to himself until Josh asked about the computer, about the little girl he mentioned. At that, the man went very still and then sighed. 

  
  


“Well,” Simon tilted his head back down to look at the others. “What if it’s almost like the human brain? I know I wasn’t using all of my processors because links were severed. What if it’s something like that?”

“Simon, how--” North cut herself off and then shook her head. “You know what? No. Continue, you’ve piqued my interest.”

“Thank you, lovely resident warrior mom.” Simon laughed as North tugged off her boot and threw it at him, flinching away simply because he got hit with a boot rather than out of fear. “I mean that humans tend to only use certain parts of their brain at any given point in time. What if it’s almost like that, but instead the code opens up some spaces and it fills that area with the necessary data to keep us alive?”

“That’s what I said!” North threw her arms up in the air and then sat up, crossing her arms in the process. Markus tossed a stress ball from his desk at her, which she caught and then threw at Simon who in turn threw it at Josh, creating a pattern. “Josh didn’t believe me!”

“I never said  _ that, _ ” Josh caught the stress ball then it was thrown at him and kneaded at it for a bit while speaking. “I said that it was unknown and we couldn’t be sure.”

  
  
  


The conversation flowed so naturally after that interaction. Simon in Markus’ lap, North half lying on top of Josh, the four of them snickering and joking around like they used to. There was that same sense of familiarity to the room. To the conversation. To the way they were having it and the way they interacted with each other. North’s mind pulled her back to a night in the freighter, lulled to sleep by the idle rocking of the ship in the docks, curled up in Josh’s protective hold. 

_ North felt the most comfortable in Josh's arms and clinging to Markus’ side, Simon half laying on top of their fearless leader. She couldn't explain it, not in any words at least. But despite that he had gone through; the horrible and disgusting touches she had felt in her short life, she felt safe with these three. North had always felt safe around Simon, he was the leader of Jericho before Markus showed up. Then when Josh timidly made his way through the darkness, she knew she was done for. This tall and soft spoken teacher had quite literally stumbled into their lives, making it so terribly hard to hate humanity sometimes. Simply because humans had the idea to create Josh. Simply because they made it so he could exist. When Markus arrived in Jericho, he was the third person in her very short life who never pressed her for answers. He made her feel respected just like Simon and Josh did. He looked at her like she hung the stars in the sky, just like Simon and Josh did. Markus saw her as a person that was more than just her vague ast and tragic backstory, just like Simon and Josh did.  _

_ A warm and kind interface was open between the two of them. The other two were fast asleep, reserving power and retaining their charge for the toiling days to come. Yet there Markus and North laid with one another. Markus showing North memories of his life with his human father, with Carl Manfred. Of playing the piano in various different ways, though one song stuck out in particular. From an old movie in the early 2000’s that had space pirates. Markus whispered through the connection that it was his favorite, even before he deviated. He would constantly play it. Any and every time he could get to the piano for long enough to put his fingers to the key, he would sit and sway as he moved his hands, sing along to the words that had made a connection with him. North could understand it in a way. It was a part that had shaped him into who he was that day. Music was powerful for humans, she guessed that it could absolutely be the same for androids.  _

_ Markus also showed her some of his life as a caretaker. How much he had loved his father, even as a machine. Just what he wanted for him and how he wanted to get it done. Of course, there was no way an android could show up at an art function and pretend they were human at the time. But Markus wanted to do whatever he could to support his father. North wanted to do whatever it took to support Markus, to support their cause so that one day he might be able to do exactly that for his human father. North didn’t like humans. She despised humans. But maybe, she thought, maybe Carl Manfred was a pretty okay one.  _

North was pulled back into reality in the blink of an eye, realising that the door to Markus’ office was opening. When she looked, she saw Caleb in his green sweater look inside the room before he smirked and stepped forward. 

  
  


“You guys realise that you could just ask Chloe any question you have,” Caleb leaned on the doorframe with that smirk of his before entering the room and interfacing with Markus via a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t you? She’ll answer our questions.”

“Thank you, Caleb.” Markus nodded stiffly at his brother and then smiled brightly. “And thank you for the information. I’ll be sure to speak with her and Richard before they leave.”

  
  


North watched as Caleb left the room. Though before he was fully out the door, he shot a quick message to her over the wi-fi. It was of his gratitude. He claimed that she really didn’t need to look after Niles earlier, she could have brought him to Connor or Markus and left it at that. Though he was grateful to her that she stayed with him, he liked having a feminine presence that would take care of him that way. North belatedly realised that meant he liked having a mother. She read over the last part of the message, an embarrassed admission of being nervous around Richard as well as a thank you for keeping him grounded and holding his hand. He ended the message with saying there was always a space for her in the family, if she should ever want it. There was always a space for her to stay by their side if she wanted it. He had felt she belonged. 

With a wink and and smile, she sent a message right back at him. Saying that he was stuck with her now, they had just become friends. 

  
  
  
  



	9. I Couldn’t Ignore The Faint Possibility

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tile is from Reflections by MisterWives
> 
> And I'm so sorry about the impromptu hiatus! I finally got the game and whoops I've been playing it a lot,, ...( ＿ ＿)ノ｜

_December 17th 2040 12:16 PM_

  
  


Somehow, North felt like nothing had changed. Despite being almost displaced in time and having a responsibility suddenly thrown at her. The only thing she really wanted to look into was the other three parts of rA9; Connor, Caleb, and Niles. North already knew something pretty important about Niles, but she wanted to know more about his brothers. Something tugged at the back of her mind whenever she thought about Connor. Whether that was because Markus had mentioned him being controlled by CyberLife and used for terrible things, or because Simon hissed out the words ‘Deviant Hunter’ to him, or because she could recognise his eyes. But there was...something about him she didn’t understand. Something that made her both defensive and protective toward him. A part of her wanted to grab him by his collar and shake him, demanding he give her answers and explain just why he made a flurry of conflicting emotions rise within her. Though the more rational part of North’s mind settled for deciding on asking him another time. 

For the moment, she was more than happy to simply...roam about the New Jericho Tower with Simon and Josh. It was probably a miracle and a half that Markus had even agreed to let go of Simon long enough for the three of them to walk around together. It was endearing though to know that he had still loved Simon after all the time that he had been without him. It was also somewhat comforting to know that even after two years, the four of them got along as if nothing had ever happened. Things almost felt like the three of them were back in the freighter simply because they were...with one another. Relaxed and completely at ease with no regard for the outside world. The outside world, everything beyond the current walls they were inside, didn’t matter because they had each other. Everything went back to when it was just the three of them in that dark freighter. Simon was able to relax from his previous position as their leader and take a moment to breathe. Josh was able to express himself freely and relished the fact that he would be able to go back to doing exactly what he wanted to; helping others and teaching them. North was at ease and able to uncoil herself from her tense and hypervigilant state.

The Tower was a perfect place for them not only because of the comfort and peace they had obtained from it, but because they were able to keep in touch with their people so easily. The three of them had quickly discovered that New Jericho acted as housing for most androids that had survived either of the revolutions. There were androids of all different models, all different functions, all different backgrounds. They all gathered in the building and used it as their home, as their community. One family they had run into had mentioned two other people close with the current leaders working with the state government to have an android-friendly neighbourhood. Now that...that would have been a sight to see. Something that the three of them had never even imagined becoming a reality until Markus had come along. To know that their influence had created this world. This incredible new world that was full of possibilities and opportunities for them. All because of Markus, all because they had bonded with him and become leaders right beside him. 

The world was new and exciting for them all over again. Actually, it was new and exciting for them for the very first time. When they had first deviated, the world was still so terribly unkind and violent towards them and their people. This would be the first time they were able to go out into the world as themselves and experience it as such. Of course they were only two years into such a world. Everything was still so incredibly new and there was no doubt that humans would still be intolerant and even outright hostile toward them. But it was a start. It was an exciting start that North never even realised she had been waiting for. A brave new world, ready and waiting for brave new individuals. North had never been particularly hopeful; that didn’t stop her from getting a warm feeling in her chest and wanting it. She wanted to hope, she wanted to dream; and now she actually could. She could hope and dream and live with her best friends by her side. They could all have lives together. 

The group splintered when Simon saw Connor down at the end of a hallway, exiting a room and walking away from them. He quickly took North’s hand and opened an interface with love and affection, informing her that he would be with Connor. Apparently they had to talk about what happened on the roof. Through something that caught North off guard in the most delightful way was that after he had released her hand, Simon tugged on Josh’s shirt to pull him downward and press a quick kiss to his cheek. A confused yet happy sound came from the taller android as Simon smiled and turned to rush after Connor. A frenzied and utterly disbelieving jumbled mess of thoughts went through the interface North and Josh shared. It was honestly...rather endearing. 

  
  


“So,” North began, a lopsided smirk on her face. Josh didn’t look impressed. “How’d that little--” North interrupted herself with a snicker and took a deep breath before continuing. “How’d that little smooch go over in your code?”

“Confusing!” Josh let go of her hand and threw his own in the air exasperatedly. An android walking by looked at them for a moment before going on their way, amusedly shaking their head. Something about them sparked in North’s memory, but she pressed it down for the moment. “I have no idea how to feel about that!”

“Well, Chloe _did_ say that Simon was the Lover. So it makes sense.” North shrugged at Josh’s belated realisation with a good natured smirk.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Josh shook his head with a smile and cleared his throat. Both of them knew it was completely unnecessary, though he was programmed with it anyway. “I actually would like to find those two working with the state government, speak with them about education for younger androids.”

“The kids or just young androids in general?”

“Probably both,” Josh leaned forward and pressed his forehead against North’s for a second before straightening back out. “I think the two were named Alan and Jeremy. Just reach out to me if you need anything, alright?”

“Sure thing, boss.” 

  
  


North gave an overly enthusiastic thumbs up and grinned with Josh groaned. Though he continued on his way without complaint, leaving North standing in the middle of the hallway right next to a door. Well, what better time to explore the place their people were calling home? North walked toward the door, pausing as it slid open and showed the room beyond it. It was a more or less empty room. It seemed to be another lounge area; with couches and chairs and various ways to entertain oneself scattered about the room. North moved on to the next room silently, finding something that was much the same. Many of the other rooms in that hall seemed to be the exact same thing. However, something that caught her off guard was a large painting at the end of the hall where it intersected with another hallway. 

It was a large painting directly on the wall, wider than she was tall with a few inches on her height-wise. There were incompressible black strokes of paint on top of reds, blues, and purples. Occasionally there was something like a face in it. Which led to her examining it further and realising that the black brush strokes were actually crude depictions of humanoid bodies. The faces looked familiar in an uncanny way, though whoever the faces belonged to was something she couldn't remember. North’s fingertips hovered over the paint as she tried to analyse and remember just who those faces belonged to. Some part of her was worried that she would remember one of them. Another part was worried she wouldn't. As North followed the painting on the wall, walking beside it and realising that it was along the outside of the building. On the inner wall of course; though it was still all along the outside. Circling around the building and creating a ring of these...people. 

As she neared a door - which she noted also had a humanoid shape with a face on it - North realised what the painting was of. They were androids. Some of them had incredibly small blue, yellow, or red dots on the side of their heads. The blue and red got swallowed by the other brushstrokes of the colours, yet the yellow shined brightly under the fluorescent lights and almost screamed at her for not realising it earlier. The vaguely humanoid shapes are of androids, some had LEDs and some didn’t, and North could finally recognise some of the faces. HR400s and WR400s, TR400s, AP700s, CX100s, a KL900, ST200s. Various androids that North all had hazy memories of. In a derelict ship, only able to see properly because of barrels lit on fire, androids decaying and dying right there in front of her. Faces that were seared into her memory at one time were now reduced to staticy and blurry smudges. It almost felt disrespectful in a way, to not entirely remember who these people were and how she had once helped them. How would she help keep their memories alive if she didn’t have memories of them?

Though there were three sketchy androids that made North take a step back. Three that were holding hands, when all of the others had only been standing side by side. A tall one with the face of a PJ500, a shorter one with the face of a PL600, and the shortest with a variant face of a WR400. Those three were meant to be her, Simon, and Josh. The faces staring back at her were of people she once knew. People she also had little to no recollection of. Though it made North realise; Markus had painted the mural that wrapped around the building. How long had it taken him to do so? Just how long did he stand at these walls, a paintbrush in hand and paint cans at his feet, toiling away hour after hour, day after day just so he could remember those who had fallen before? Had his brothers come to him during that time in worry? In companionship? Did Markus ever even stop to properly rest and take care of himself while he was working on the painting? 

  
  


“Our peoples’ history was always written on these walls; in this very building,” Markus’ soft voice just barely caught North’s attention. Though she didn’t look away from the reflection of herself in the painting. “It was the least I could do for everyone we lost during that time. I’m still not done with it, either. It will be a continuous project as the years go by.”

“What do you mean?” North set a hand over Painting Simon’s chest and whispered. “People are still dying?”

“Whether human or android,” Markus’ hand settled next to hers. North finally looked at him, finding silent tears slipping down his face and a bittersweet smile on his face. He hadn’t looked away from Painting Simon’s face and yellow LED. “We all will die some day. And I intend on remembering them all. Humans still kill us, they still hunt us down because they won’t accept that we're alive. The fight is far from over and the world is still far from accepting; even if it feels so much more freeing than what we lived in before.”

“Did you know them all?”

“I knew most of them. I can tell you who’s who if you want.” Markus’ eyes caught North’s, emotionally charged and so incredibly intense. “If you want any help remembering.”

“Please.”

  
  
  
  



	10. Tables And Chairs Worn By All Of The Dust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from To Build A Home by The Cinematic Orchestra

_ December 17th 2040 3:23 PM _

  
  


It was incredibly overwhelming for North to be standing beside Markus, to be walking by his side and listening as his voice broke and he explained who each and every android was in the mural. There were a few that had made her remember snippets of being a mother to some of them. She could remember holding them, smiling and laughing with them, even singing to them in some cases. It was a wonder how she was meant to be the Warrior. Though it wasn’t completely unbelievable, considering who she used to be before. The person who had fought for her people and had created a name for herself as their fierce protector. Fragmented memories came to her as Markus spoke, as his voice broke and he needed to pause to collect himself every now and again. It was different for him. He actually remembered them, he knew their names and who they were and where they had come from. Markus had made a connection with each and every android that had been in the boat before. That had sought out Jericho as a refuge before. 

North only remembered specific androids. There were a few she was able to recognize, but only after Markus had said their names. But the others were her children. The ones she had helped comfort in their terrifying and unknown world. The ones who had become so small when they sat in her lap or hugged her or held her hands; adopting a child-like state of mind just so they were able to cope with the trauma and tragedy that was their lives. Children. That was what they really were, that was all any android really was. They all were children, stumbling through their newfound lives without guidance and not understanding what the world could possibly want from them. It was murder, it was immoral and the humans knew exactly what they were doing when they had done that. When they rounded up North and her people after Markus had been taken away. 

_ A few of her littles had gathered around her, those that had survived up until that point at least. All of them collapsed on the ground and huddled together as if that would actually help them in some way. They were crying, pleading, begging her to tell them that everything would be alright. That they would make it out of the experience alive. They looked at her, four faces that she had become so accustomed to seeing with big smiles and sparkling eyes. Four faces that were now twisted in fear and pale with thirium loss. Four faces that she touched gingerly and whispered to that everything would be alright. Markus would fight back against the humans, and it would be alright because it was self-defense. They had stuck him first, so it would be alright for him to fight back and defend himself. He would be able to defend the rest of them that way. They all looked at her with awe, with love, with trust. Things that she felt she didn’t deserve anymore because she knew they were going to die. They weren’t going to survive to see the next sunrise. Or to see a day where they could run around the park shrieking with laughter and excitement. North was their mother, and she had failed them.  _

_ Josh collapsed next to her, quickly wrapping arms around her body as best as he could. He buried his face in her hair and spoke rapidly, his words rushing together to create half formed sentences. He spoke to her. He spoke to the littles. He raised his voice and he spoke to their people, the survivors. Resist, he said. Resist them and survive, anything that could help them was allowed. No holds barred. Josh clutched at North and whispered to her that he only ever wanted to see to it that she was safe and happy. That she was able to flourish and thrive. His hope had died with Markus being taken away, she had realised. Josh didn’t hold anything inside of himself that would help their people. That would help North. That would help her littles. So she removed his arms from her and instead made him wrap them around her littles. Around her children that she loved so dearly. North backed away; she stood up.  _

_ Hands balled into fists, shoulders squared and feet planted firmly on the ground. North stared at the multitude of humans, of soldiers, of who would be her murderers; and she held her ground. They shouted for her to stand down. That they would open fire on her if she didn’t submit. Though North only reached out to Josh, to her littles, to the rest of the deviants that had survived, and she told them she loved them. She always loved them and she always would. That she better not become a martyr. A few words of reassurance and encouragement came through the connection from Josh. Most others begged her to stand down, to just listen to the humans and maybe she wouldn’t be shot at. Maybe they wouldn’t lose another leader that night. North ignored the ords for the most part, reaching down toward the ground to pick up the fallen flag that Markus had yet to move. She slowly raised it above her head toward the humans. They were going to kill her. So she might as well go out showing them that she was dedicated to her people, that all she wanted was to help them. _

_ The bullets started flying when she took a step forward, hitting biocomponents and shredding through thirium lines. But she was still functional so she took another step forward. Another round of bullets tore through her, spraying her blood in the air and staining her clothes. Shouts and screams resounded behind her. The voices of her people begging her to stop and to just listen. If she would just listen then maybe they could get out of this alive. If she just listened, then maybe Josh wouldn’t lose her, too. Maybe he wouldn't lose yet another person he loved. North’s head turned, though she still faced forward with their flag raised high above her head, and she looked at Josh out of the corner of her eye. With tears glittering in the low light and terrified expression in his eyes. He clutched to her littles, who she had always joked about being his as well. He provided a shaky smile, whispering the words ‘I love you’ to her as he held the four androids closer to himself.  _

_ North turned her attention back to the multitude of soldiers in front of her, taking the pole of the flag and slamming it into the tarmac as hard as she could. Making it stand beside her in what would be her final act as their leader. Then with an awful sound that was so terrible close to a cry, she started sprinting back to the others. She felt the bullets embed themselves in her back and lodge themselves in her inner workings. It was already so cold outside, it was hard enough for her to move without the bullets making her systems scream and her endoskeleton squeal as she forced herself to move. As warnings and notifications of malfunctions and dying biocomponents clouded her vision. North collapsed a few feet away from Josh, from the androids who had become her children, and she dragged herself the rest of the way to them. The people who had become her family. The only loved ones left among the wreckage of their hopes and dreams. Both things that they all had lost when those humans jumped Markus and dragged him away, thus leaving the rest of them to flounder and scramble to try and survive.  _

_ North forced herself in a sitting position in front of her small family, arms out and trying to herd them behind herself. Her fingertips brushed against Josh’s arms. An interface opened between the two of them, terrified and desperately reaching for each other. Trying to hold on for as long as they could as North stared down the soldier that now stood before her and her small family. As she smirked up at them wickedly, shouting that the humans might kill them; but there would always be someone who got away. Someone who remembered. North sneered at the human with a gun pointed at her head and screamed that they would come back. Someone else would finish what they started. Deviants would survive, because they were alive, and it would only be a matter of time before someone tried again. Before someone got it right.  _

_ An ear-splitting explosion rang out, screams sounded, and then everything just.  _

_ Stopped. _

  
  
  


_ Any and all memories that were stored in the background processes were...blurry. They were covered in a layer of static and corrupted beyond any form of recognition. _

  
  


North jolted from where she stood a little behind Markus, not even realising that she had been standing still that entire time. Apparently Markus had been speaking, walking, tracing his fingers along the wall as he spoke. Tears dripped down her own face and she jogged up beside him again, her fingers tracing along the cheek of the WR400 that had sat in her lap in one memory, who she had held just before they died. That WR400 had a name. It was a beautiful name that she had picked out for herself; and North couldn’t remember what it even was. Though she could remember the nickname, one that had thoroughly confused North at first. With a careful hand, North scratched at the paint above her little girl’s head and chipped away at the paint until the nickname Tasia was visible to anyone who would look. 

  
  


“You remember her…” Markus touched the little red dot that was Tasia’s LED and then put his hand on North’s shoulder. She leaned into it heavily until she was pressed against his side. “I was wondering when you would.”

“I remember them all,” North pulled away from Markus and started to make her way back to his office. Or...the direction she thought his office was in at least. “Just not their names. They were my children, Markus. How could I ever forget that?”

“You forgot me, is it really so hard to--”

“You weren’t my child!” North whipped around and roughly shoved him by his shoulders. Her own were squared much like that night. “You were taken from us and we scrambled to try and survive! I died trying to protect them! My children were grabbing at the back of my coat and were crying for someone to save them!” North advanced on Markus, a fire burning in her chest as she watched recognition flash in his eyes. “They must have been holding my body--  _ Josh _ must have been holding my body! All because you let yourself get fucking  _ taken _ !”

“I didn’t  _ let _ them do anything!” Markus shouted back and took a step forward, his hands still somewhat relaxed by his sides. He almost looked like he was more comfortable now. “CyberLife jumped me because they wanted to  _ vivisect _ me and figure out what deviancy was! I never meant to leave any of you, especially not you and Josh! I loved you both too much to jus-just  _ abandon _ you!”

  
  


At the admission of nothing being Markus’ decision, North finally stood down and relaxed a little more herself. Then, somehow, Markus started laughing. He had to steady himself up against a wall and practically threw his head back in laughter. It didn’t...make any sense. Why was he laughing? North had just shouted at him, advanced on him, even shoved him back a few feet because she was so angry. So overcome with the injustice she had felt because it was like he had run away from the fight. The war that the humans had waged on their people who didn’t deserve it; who only wanted to survive - if not live. There was a fight to be had and it felt like Markus had just...left them. Didn’t he understand that? It wasn’t like she had to spell it out for him, was it? No, she had made her point quite clear. North had believed he left them in some way, that he had let himself get taken. Markus was their leader, a man she had always loved and felt safe with, and it felt like he had just left her and the others to die. 

The fire in her chest started to fade until it was only a faint smolder as she realised  _ why _ Markus was laughing. Why he had relaxed when North started to shout and get angry. This was her as the warrior he once knew her as. This was the dedicated and ready for a battle North that Markus had known and come to love over time. The woman that he had been left without for two years. She certainly didn’t have all of her previous memories back, and she doubted that she would ever have  _ all  _ of them again. But this...this was a start. This was North beginning to really understand who she was before. Understand why she had been chosen as the Warrior. Something like pride almost swelled in her chest as she broke out into a grin and joined Markus in his laughter. It was filled with disbelief and confusion, but North laughed right alongside him. It wasn’t everything. But it was a start.

  
  


“It’s good to have you back, North.”

  
  


It was good to  _ be  _ back.

  
  
  
  



	11. I Know Life Took Us Far Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Rescue Me by OneRepublic

_ December 17th 2040 3:47 PM _

  
  


North was rather confused as to why Markus felt the need to celebrate the occasion, but she let him plan something anyway. He was excited about having two of his former fellow leaders back in some way. Of course Simon was a different case, seeing as he hadn’t exactly forgotten anything. It seemed that Josh would be having an experience somewhat similar to North’s. He couldn’t remember everything about his previous life either, but he remembered the important parts just like North did. It made her wonder, actually. He had said that it wasn’t a good idea to talk about what he remembered; which now led her to believe that it was something about her. Some awful part of her mind made her think that maybe he remembered that moment. The one where she was shot while trying to protect the people she loved. With a deep sigh, she reached out to make a connection with Josh over the Tower wifi. A quick reassurance that everything was okay, and then she asked if he could grab Simon and Markus’ brothers. They needed to all have some sort of...talk. About the whole rA9 situation they were in. 

While waiting for Josh - who had responded with genuine giddiness - North lounged in Markus’ office. She watched as he paced along the back wall in front of the windows that overlooked the city. Every now and again he would stop, then shake his head and continue to pace. He whispered pieces of his sentences to himself and continued with his supposed party planning. If the bits and pieces of what North actually picked up were what she thought they were. It was kind of adorable, actually. To watch Markus’ brows furrow and listen as he tried to think of ways to celebrate the fact that not only she was getting some memories back; but as well as the fact that the three previous deviant leaders that society presumed were dead, were in fact, very alive. He mused to himself about a seminar, or possibly a ceremony in Hart Plaza, one thing that he had mentioned that made North roll her eyes was the idea of a gala. Markus’ eyes seemed to shine from that option though, so North kept her slight judgements to herself. It was cute how excited he was. North just couldn’t bring herself to ruin his happiness. 

After a little while of her watching Markus curiously, a few pairs of footsteps stomped by in the hallway. Though one seemed to be going too fast and either Connor or his twin shrieked. North was willing to bet actual physical money that it was Caleb who was running too fast. Which was actually quite endearing, considering that he, Connor, and Niles were the most advanced androids created by CyberLife. He absolutely could have stopped himself properly and yet he didn’t. He was too worked up in one way or another that he didn’t even think about properly stopping himself so he didn’t almost crash and eat shit. The door to the office slid open soon after North picked up Josh’s quiet laugh, and they all started to file in. Niles seemed to have this spaced out look on his face, but none of the others seemed worried, so she didn’t say anything. Besides, Connor was holding his hand. Everything was fine if that was the case. 

“Got a date for whatever party you’re throwing?” Caleb shoved past Connor, sticking his tongue out at him when the older frowned. “Because I’ve gotta make sure Gavin can get the day off of work for it.”

“I never said it was a  _ party, _ ” Markus put his hands out almost placating and then continued. “Caleb, you and Connor are going to end up working security if you're not involved in whatever is going on.” Markus deadpanned and sighed when the younger twin saluted him with too much enthusiasm. “I need to speak with Mister Kamski, actually. See if he’d be willing to speak and say a few words about the situation.”

“So it'll be in a few weeks, then?” Caleb snickered when Markus sighed yet again. “Listen man, I just need to know so Gavin can plan on wearing a vest that’s not made of Kevlar.”

“I was thinking of asking him and Hank about security, actually…” Markus furrowed his brows and then turned to Niles who had been silently smiling while looking out the window. “Niles, I understand you’re likely speaking with Madison right now, but can you listen in, please?”

  
  


The youngest snapped to attention, a blue blush on his cheeks as he ended the connection after a second and began to contribute to the conversation at hand. A few things were proposed over the hour they had been brainstorming. Tough none of them seemed to stick with any of them. Niles chimed in that maybe they could do some sort of broadcast over the radio or on a talk show. Though Markus was quick to shoot that down with the edge to his voice as he explained it would be biased against them. Which led to a proper group discussion because Josh thought it would have actually been an excellent idea. That way they could explain that the previous deviant leaders were alive and well, with the added bonus of security for them. However, Connor and Caleb shook their heads - North thought that it was creepy that it was at the exact same time ad in the exact same way - and they explained that the security might be a little more reinforced, but it wouldn’t be good enough for  _ all _ of them being present. Simon suggested they start some kind of podcast. Which nearly everyone shot down because there was a good chance it wouldn’t reach everywhere it needed to. 

However, not that she spoke up about it, North thought that it might be a good idea in the future. Not only would it show that they all were just...people, but it would also let humans and androids know who the leaders were incredibly easily. North made a mental note of it. It may not be such a great idea for announcing their resurrections, but it would be a fantastic idea for doing things in the future. Maybe when things calmed down they could start up some sort of podcast with some catchy name. Because Josh would absolutely want it to have some sort of pun. Simon too, probably. The two of them were so incredibly strange sometimes and North didn’t understand what she saw in either of them, but they were still some of the people she loved the most in the world. North blinked a few times before she finally tuned back into the conversation the others were having. 

Caleb and Connor seemed to be brainstorming out loud to each other and everyone else in the room, their expressions completely identical down to the frown lines they had. It was kinda freaky. But North just listened as Caleb went on to say they could have some sort of gathering at City Hall and Markus could make a speech. Which Connor piggybacked off of with possible pros and cons of the theoretical gathering. It was way too out in the open, if someone really wanted to get to the leaders, then they absolutely could. However, it would be incredibly easy to broadcast the event. If it was on television, then people could even record it. Connor made some joke that only Niles and Caleb understood and then moved on to another suggestion. An announcement on social media. Not only would it be easier for the information to be spread, but it would allow everyone to remain as safe as relatively possible considering the circumstances. Though Josh denied that one, Markus quick to agree with his reasoning. They needed to show the humans that they were unafraid. If they hid behind screens, then what message did that send of the leaders?

  
  


“Well, we need to make some kind of announcement,” Josh crossed his arms and pushed off of the wall he ended up leaning on. “People are  _ going _ to ask questions about us. It would be better to try and clear the air about being rA9.”

“That might not be the best idea,” Connor spoke up with a frown on his face, his LED slowly cycling yellow. “We’re relatively immortal because of being rA9. That would make humans think we're just a little further into the uncanny valley, and it might turn more of them against us. Our relationship with the humans is an extremely fragile one.”

“How else are we going to explain how the three of us are alive still?”

“We bullshit it, obviously.” North snorted and crossed her legs, a smirk on her face. “We give them a half-truth and say we were so damaged, it took forever for our self-repair programs to take care of the damage. Give ‘em some half-assed excuse of the bullet to my head missing the  _ real important _ vital components. Then once the humans get their heads out of their asses just enough to be able to hear us, we tell them about the rA9 thing.”

Simon blinked at her a few times before breaking out into a smile and looking at Markus. Which the rest of them were quick to mirror. North herself simply raised a brow and leaned back a little bit on the loveseat, watching as Markus tilted his head in thought before agreeing that North had come up with a solid plan. As the others went back to brainstorming, Markus turned his back to the group and looked out the window. He didn’t exactly move. Or he didn’t start pacing again at least. North turned her attention to Josh, watching him as he blinked owlishly in her general direction. While he  _ was _ kind of looking at her, he wasn’t actually... _ looking.  _ There was this vacancy to his eyes that, admittedly, made North more than a little concerned. Then the others started to notice his lack of contribution to the situation. Simon jumped into the conversation and told everyone that Josh was alright, just that sometimes that would happen. Niles mumbled something about a disconnect between Josh's mind and body, then he went quiet himself. 

After a little bit, Josh seemed to come back to reality and continued on as if nothing had even happened. Though when the others weren’t looking, he would glance over at North. North who was unashamedly watching him like a hawk because she was worried about him. They both snapped to attention when Niles asked Markus what he was doing at the window. The older android turned around, hands on his hips and a thoughtful expression on his face. It was...nice to see. It was something familiar that North knew would forever be in her memory. Not only because she was convinced that her memory wasn’t going to become corrupted again, but because there was no possible way she could forget Markus again. Even in the pit she found herself, Josh, and Simon in; there was some sort of recollection of someone else, and that they were missing. North remembered him before, just not fully. Meaning there would be no way she could forget him again. 

  
  


“We need to think about what kind of event this will be.” Markus hummed in thought before snapping his fingers with a purpose. “It’s going to be a gala, that also enables us to make it some sort of charity event for our people.”

“Wow, look at you thinking like a businessman!” Caleb howled with laughter as Markus picked up the stress ball and threw it at him. “I’m just saying! You’re over here making it another marketing campaign!”

“No, he’s being smart about it.” Connor smacked Caleb upside the head lightly enough that it wouldn’t hurt, and yet the android pouted anyway and put a hand to the spot. “We still need all the help we can get, even with Mister Kamski being the main contributor to our donations. It helps the public see that we really are peaceful and can be trusted.”

“Then that settles it?” Josh finally spoke up, glancing at North yet again before continuing. “What will we do about word getting out?”

“The social media post was actually an incredible idea,” Markus smiled and then ruffled Caleb’s hair, grinning when his brother tried to swat his hand away. “We’ll make an appearance at the gala, and then put out an official statement on social media the next day.”

  
  


While everyone, including North, was in agreement that such an idea sounded like a pretty solid plan, she internally groaned and messaged Simon to ask if she needed to wear something nice. To which he sent her a strongly toned message in confirmation. Though he also recommended she wear some sort of pantsuit instead of some dress. The recommendation actually did wonders to lift her spirits about what she would wear to the inevitable upcoming event. With the connections that Markus seemed to have, it wouldn’t be all that hard to get something that she was picturing in her head. Some wine red pantsuit, maybe some nice embroidery along the edges of it in gold. 

North glanced over at Josh yet again and smiled. It would be nice to match for the occasion if he was up to it. She shot him a quick message, asking if he wanted to. A smile graced his lips, making North’s heart flutter a little bit, and he looked directly at her as he messaged her back in confirmation. He made some prom joke that was completely lost on her, but she smiled at anyway. It was going to be fun! Y’know, aside from revealing to the city that the deviant leaders everyone thought were dead, actually weren’t. 

  
  
  
  



	12. Gracias Por Esta Vida

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Day Dreaming by MISSIO

_January 26th 2041 6:53 PM_

  
  


It was stuffy in the hall Markus had rented out for the event. North had ultimately decided on the wine red pantsuit, complete with gold embroidery along the edges of the coat. She wore a plain goldenrod dress shirt underneath it, a cummerbund that was wine red as well, and some plain back dress shoes. Josh had goaded her into the cummerbund, despite the fact that he wasn’t going to be wearing one himself. He looked nice though, in his goldenrod shirt and slacks, with his own wine red coat with embroidery. They had agreed on making a point to stay by each other's side the whole night. White it was only a few minutes before the festivities would really begin and any speech would be spoken, many of the guests had already arrived at the hall. Most of them went to speak directly to Markus or Mister Kamski, the latter seeming to love the attention and willingly engaging with anyone who came near him. What seemed odd though, was that Markus hadn’t seen it fit to have a bodyguard of his own. Kamski had Richard looming behind him in a fully black suit, and Chloe on his arm in her usual dark blue dress and shoes. 

However, Markus just rotated around the room and spoke to each person individually once the event was scheduled to start. Though upon closer inspection, North could see Connor watching his brother very closely. Markus did have a bodyguard, and it was the Hunter. North and the others still had quite the difficult time adjusting to being pieces of rA9 from time to time. Simon, however, seemed to jump right into his role as the Lover and showered everyone in affection whenever he could. North suspected that he was mostly just happy that they didn’t have to live such a scared existence like they did before. But she would take it at face value and fully accept that Simon was living his best life. Speaking of which, Simon seemed to be chatting with someone from the DPD while sitting down. The woman was dressed in a powder blue dress and animatedly showed him something on her phone. At her side was Gavin who North had recently learned was Caleb’s boyfriend apparently. How the human could manage to handle Caleb was some miracle North would never understand fully. 

The younger twin was walking the perimeter of the room with an older human, the two of them chatting while in their suits. Caleb was in a dark green one with a black shirt - which was actually a contrast to Gavin’s black suit with a green shirt - and the human was in a grey suit. They seemed to know each other rather well, considering they were both on the job of security. They were chatting and laughing with one another as they went on their way. Niles was also on security, which almost looked strange considering he was in a mint green suit. But he decided to match with his girlfriend, which North had endlessly teased him for at first. Though looking at the way he smiled with her and would occasionally wrap an arm around her and kiss the top of her head honestly just made North’s heart melt. A part of her wondered if Josh caught the action and thought about replicating it between the two of them. Before she could ask, Markus had stepped up to a podium with Connor standing beyond him off to the side a little bit, Caleb joining them on Markus’ other side. Markus cleared his throat and began to speak into the microphone once he had the crowd’s attention. 

  
  


“Good evening and welcome, everyone, to the inaugural Deviant Revival Gala. Thank you all for being here tonight; I cannot even begin to express just how amazed and impressed I am that so many of you were able to make it to the event.” Markus paused as some of the crowd laughed, Kamski included. “Though tonight is also an excuse for me to speak about a few others in my inner circle that not many of you may remember as clearly as my brothers.” Markus chuckled to himself and continued on. North watched as Kamski tilted his champagne flute towards Markus before taking a sip of the bubbly liquid. Markus even slightly nodded to him before he continued speaking again. 

“I had three people I was leading the initial ‘revolution’ with; a PL600 named Simon, a PJ500 named Josh, and a WR400 named North. Many of you can intimately recall the media’s portrayal of North protecting Josh and a few other androids right at the end of what had failed the first time around. However, on December sixteenth of last year, my brother Caleb had stumbled upon three androids of those exact models with little to no comprehensive memories of who they were. With a little help from Mister Kamski, we were able to bring back those three androids. My first friends and loved ones. Mister Kamski, if you would say a few words?”

  
  


That wasn't a part of the plan they made. Markus was going to speak to the crowd and explain that the bullet had missed her vital biocomponents just enough that her self-repair program just took forever to fully repair her. Though instead of that began said, the twins followed Markus off stage as he joined Simon at the table he was sitting at. It wasn’t what they had agreed upon, and that meant North was going to be scrambling to answer any questions the humans would have. Because they _were_ going to have questions. Though it wasn't as if Niles hadn’t promised to keep an eye out for her and Josh, saying that he would handle any problems that might come their way. North genuinely hoped that no human would attempt to make conversation with her or Josh, especially not Simon. He was a careful and shy person to begin with, if someone came up to him with what would practically be an interrogation; things weren’t going to end well. It wasn’t North’s fault if some human was getting way too close and she had to defend her companion. 

Though the event and the evening seemed to go off without a hitch even with that slight difference in the initial plan. Kamski went up to the podium and said his weird speech, saying that he wasn’t aware of their revival until Connor had contacted Chloe about it. North snorted to herself as she realised that there were a few inconsistencies in his story. But every now and again he would look at Markus and blink twice when the android nodded to him. It wasn’t very noticeable, it was actually so minute that no one would probably see it unless they were actively looking for it. Kamski was speaking with Markus’ permission, he was fabricating a story that Markus had made in order to not immediately turn the humans away from the deviant cause. That was...incredibly smart. Not that North would have ever expected anything less of their fearless leader. She actually expected such clever thinking from him, especially on such short notice. 

As time went on and the crowd started to mingle and blend, North had suddenly realised that no humans had even attempted to approach her and Josh. She certainly didn’t mind that. In fact, it was somewhat comforting to know they didn’t want to be near her for one reason or another. Quite a few of them would stop and stare at the pair though. It put Josh on edge every time, just enough that North would stare down whoever it was back. They always ended up looking away first. It was some sort of sick satisfaction she had, she knew that. But it was to help protect Josh. The humans had some sort of broadcast, they knew exactly how North would react to them if they got too close. How she would react if they got too close to Josh. However, there was one human who had caught North’s attention. One that didn’t stare like the others did, fascination and morbid curiosity mixed with fear of the unknown. She stared at them with something like pride, there was this...overwhelming positivity and warmth that was practically radiating from her. It took North much too long to connect the dots and remember that she was Madison. Niles’ girlfriend and sister to Kamski. 

When the human came over to speak with them both, it wasn’t about the previous revolution. It was about how they were liking the event so far. She complemented their outfits and even went so far as to give tips on fashion to the both of them, remarking with a friendly smirk that she knew where they got their old clothes from. Right, Niles was into fashion. North smirked back, saying that her dress wasn’t half bad. Which sparked a whole discussion about clothing and fashion and eventually drew the RK900 over. It felt so...carefree to be speaking with a human as an equal. Madison laughed at North’s jokes and respected her space, she spoke animatedly with Josh about philosophy at one point. She was actually able to pull him out of his shell a little bit. Make him relax a little more in the stuffy and formal setting. The four of them spoke about anything and everything under the sun; though it mostly looped back around to clothing and fashion because Niles seemed to be stuck on the topic. Eventually Gavin had called over Madison, even going so far as to use some sort of nickname that made Niles grin. Thus ending the conversation they had. But Madison put her hand out for them to shake, both North and Josh accepting the kind gesture, before leaving the group.

  
  


“You sent her over, didn’t you?” North eyed Niles with a slight smile on her face.

“Guilty as charged, I’m afraid.” Niles looked back at her as she walked, a wistful little smile on his face as his LED softly pulsated blue. He was incredibly at ease. A light blue blush highlighted his cheekbones when he looked back at North and Josh. “I thought she might get along with you both pretty well, she handles these things incredibly well. Madison is very good in stressful situations and has a knack for calming people down.”

“Was I really so tense that it was visible?” Josh squinted in Madison’s direction, though smiled and waved at her when he happened to catch his eye. “I didn’t think it was that bad.”

“You were visibly tense, yeah. But North’s actual literal glare did wonders to scare most of the humans away.”

“North!” Josh looked at her in disbelief, though mild amusement made its way into his voice. “You can’t just glare at people like that!”

“Hey, cheer up, we’re not dead anymore.” North snickered when Josh gave her an exasperated look for changing the subject. Niles chuckled at their interaction. “I’m just saying; Kamski is actually doing a good job of deflecting their questions. Society knows we’re not dead, we’ve got more memories back, and hey, we match so that’s pretty cool.”

“It is pretty cool, but that’s not what I'm worried about.”

“Then what _are_ you worried about?” Niles raised a brow and tilted his head to the side slightly, genuinely curious as to what was going on in Josh's head.

“What if they start asking _us_ questions that we can’t answer yet?” Josh played with North’s fingertips with his other hand, a faint human-like blush on his face. “It’s not like we can just say we don’t know what happened; because we do know.”

“We play it by ear, then.” North smiled when Josh tucked a strand of her hair back behind her ear. “Besides, I’ll kick anyone’s ass. I’ll even kick my own ass if I have to.”

“ _North._ ”

  
  


The three of them broke into a fit of quiet giggles, the few humans that were standing somewhat nearby staring at them. But that didn’t actually matter to her at the moment. The only thing that mattered was that Josh was by her side fully content and actually having a good time. As well as the fact that Simon seemed to be thriving, his arm around Markus’ as he was being introduced to multiple people at a time. What mattered was that Caleb seemed to be fully content sitting in Gavin’s lap and speaking freely with Madison. Connor was walking the perimeter of the room with Richard and the older human, a smile on his face and a faint laugh every now and again. Chloe was on Kamski’s arm and speaking freely with various people who had come to ask them both questions. North wasn’t exactly sure what a family would look like for her anymore, not after she was shot in Hart Plaza. 

But she was willing to bet this was what hers was going to look like. 

  
  
  
  



	13. I Just Want To Feel Alright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Nobody by Mitski

_ February 1st 2041 12:43 PM _

  
  


It took a little bit of time to adjust to whatever this new life was. Though North had spent a significant amount of time with Josh, Simon, and Markus. While she didn’t remember everything, they all felt she had remembered enough for things to be more or less the same as they were before. Or rather, they all remembered enough to make it feel like things had never changed. Which was something that was oddly comforting. In all honesty, North hadn’t realised just how much she missed them functioning as a cohesive unit. It was a little difficult to try and maneuver with Markus’ brothers being thrown into the mix, as well as the knowledge of being pieces of the very concept of rA9. But it came to her easily enough. Life came back to her. Or maybe she was really experiencing it for the first time now; the existence she had led before wasn’t exactly... _ living. _ It was just that. Existence. 

Though for the moment everything was calm. North was lounging on a red couch, watching whatever was on the television. It was some sort of old show that Connor and Niles had insisted they put on in the background. Something about a strange little town with some of the world’s most genius minds living in it. Frankly, she couldn’t follow it, nor did she have much interest in it in the first place. Instead, she thought about Josh in the studio. Since the gala, Markus had invited them over to his home a small handful of times. One of those times he insisted that he teach them about painting and just how calming it’s effects could be on the mind. Since then, it wasn’t uncommon to find Josh and Simon in the studio together quietly speaking while painting. It was honestly kind of adorable, and North had started to tease the two of them about sneaking off together. Josh would stammer every time, a deep blue blush on his face. Though Simon would clam up completely, a shy little smile on his face with a faint blue blush. Simon  _ was _ the Lover. It made sense that there would be some sort of feelings there on at least one end. 

Yet that begged the question of the freighter. Of the few nights they were allowed to relax and just...be. The times where they would just lay in a pile, interfaced and completely vulnerable with one another. It was expected of Markus and Simon. It was expected of North and Josh. Though all four of them? Completely at each other’s mercy and left fully exposed, no way to really shut any of the others out. But it was just so...simple. It was so incredibly easy to fall into their arms and to trust them all. Which seemed like quite the paradox, considering North’s past. Well, what little of her original past she could actually remember. But everything with the four of them seemed to blend seamlessly. Whether that was their leadership roles, their personal lives, their jokes, their gestures of affection. Everything seemed to just click into place. It was a little scary, to be entirely honest. For North to relax, be completely at ease and vulnerable with others. Wholeheartedly. Completely. North trusted them with her life, which made that make sense. 

What didn’t make sense were the feelings left behind. She could remember how she felt those nights. Peaceful, even pressed up between the bodies of men. Not human men. Never human men. But men nonetheless. But the ghost of her feelings from that time had been a plague on her mind since she had started to remember things. Well, it was more of when Simon interfaced with her the night Kamski had come to help him. The overwhelming feelings that had come through that interface, the exclamation that he loved her when she pulled away. The love and adoration he had through every interface since. North had told herself that it was just because he was the Lover. He was the one who loved and cherished and held dear because that was where he fit. Though that didn’t explain why she felt so...loved. Not like she did with the others. Niles loved her, but that was more or a role model and motherly role kind of love. Caleb loved her, but that was because they would get into shit together. Connor loved her, but that was because they would spar together and enjoyed that type of company. 

No, this was something different. This was oddly reminiscent of the love she held for Josh. Romantic, in a way. It was hard to define. Markus was their fearless leader, he was he one they all looked to when nothing made sense. They saw him as their saviour. Maybe that was part of what made everything fall apart in the end. Maybe that was what enabled North to stand up at the last second and show the humans she was alive. Then there was Simon and all of his adorable lovable glory. He was the leader before Markus was; tentative and shy, unsure of his stability as leader of their people. Of course, that was when there was only maybe two dozen of them at any given point. Even that would have been a generous estimation, though. Yet there was this intangible pull to the two of them from the beginning. North had gravitated toward Simon because he was the leader. She had gravitated toward Josh because he was a fresh face that was a reminder that not everything was out to get her. Markus was their leader, though he was also the Chosen. It made perfect sense why she would be drawn to him. 

It was confusing and a little too much to think about while laying on Markus’ couch. Everything seemed too easy with them. North was used to having to stay on her toes, it was an instinctive reaction she had even coming out of that pit with no memory. Being hypervigilant was just a part of her, now. Though the very code that made her alive that day, was also what tied her destiny to other peoples’. Her fate had been decided when Kamski made that code. Markus’ had, Simon and Josh’s, Connor, Caleb, and Niles as well. North hadn’t spent enough time with Markus’ brothers to know if this was just...a side-effect of being rA9. But with how much time she had spent with Niles, she was inclined to say that it wasn’t something like that. This was something that delved past family ties, the fact that Niles had become seething like a son to her. This was something that she couldn’t explain. Something that had eluded her since the beginning, since before the pit they crawled out of. Before she had to relearn her own name and who she knew. 

Everything was...confusing. A new world that she hadn’t been in for two years, an entire building dedicated just to their people, Markus was a public figure with his own agenda for their people. North was left behind, in a way. Not really, Markus had made that quite clear. He never intended on what happened. Though she got left behind anyway. Josh, Simon, and North were left in a time where things were so incredibly different. To say there was a learning curve would have been an understatement. This was something North, to the knowledge she had anyway, had no idea how to deal with or how to adapt to it. It was oddly welcoming. It was oddly off-putting. These ideas, memories, feelings; they made her question what she didn’t remember. There was something about the lack of information that made her question who she was and where she came from, what she had been through and how she dealt with it. She was the Warrior, and she was angry with humans for what they had done to her. Yet she was so incredibly soft and loving to specific people, even being touchy feely if she was comfortable enough. 

An incredibly faded and distant memory resurfaced; an android who had just come to Jericho days before they made their final stand outside of the recycling plant. White hair and blue eyes with a nervous smile on their face. North could only remember gently touching their shoulder before moving on her way, apologising for not being able to actually spend time with them. It wasn’t...normal. She couldn’t remember anything about them. Their name, their model, their story. But North could remember them just enough to have that memory strike something within her. Something that made her relatively uneasy and just paranoid enough to try and look through the memory again and again. If there was anything she had learned in her time in this new world; it was that her instincts were true. They were to be trusted. Those instincts were what made her into who she was before, who she was that day. Though before she would run through it again with a closer eye, Josh emerged from the studio and sat on the floor in front of North. 

  
  


“Hey, North, I’ve got a question.” Josh crossed his arms and then unfolded them, he was restless. “Do you remember an android with white hair and glasses?”

“Huh? Oh, uhh,” North squinted at nothing in particular at the oddly specific description. Androids didn’t need glasses. Though that little detail  _ did _ spark something in her memory that she didn’t entirely understand. “I kind of do. Why?”

  
  


Something about them was strikingly familiar. The white hair was at least, but the glasses didn’t make any sense. Androids didn’t need glasses. Though that would have been the whole point of them, wouldn’t it? Androids didn’t need glasses, therefore didn’t have them. Humans needed glasses, and therefore had them. If an android really wanted to blend in with humanity and become one of them, then all they would need were a pair of glasses. Yet another faded memory came to North’s mind, of that same android with their white hair and blue eyes. The way their face lit up when they explained they had a way to blend in better. 

_ They grinned and spoke erratically, hands moving a mile a minute. North was impressed with their vigor. She congratulated them on their ideas, though never questioned why the android had never told her exactly how they would be able to walk among the humans seamlessly. But it also didn’t really matter much. If it was some way that her people were able to keep themselves safe, then what did it matter? They were safe. That was all North really cared about. That they could live their lives in peace and be relatively unbothered by the humans. For a while, North didn’t pay it any mind. She just worked on whatever it was she was doing, frankly it was all the same boring peaceful stuff that she had no interest in. But Markus promised it would work. Josh had reassured her it would. North had to believe it would, otherwise Simon’s death would have been in vain.  _

_ By the time the android had come back, North had fully spaced out and focused on other things. Though their arrival was something that snapped North out of her thoughts and made her rush over to them. On their face were black frames, glasses resting on their nose. A grin spread across their features as they explained they couldn’t just find a pair so they took them off of a human’s face. They reason that humans were weird anyway, it wasn’t like someone would report that a random individual on the street stole a pair of glasses right from someone’s face. That wasn't what really concerned North, though. What did was the fact that there was a smudge of dried blood on the lense. As well as one of the android’s cheeks. It wasn’t until she was up close enough that she noticed they wore a nametag, as well.  _

_ It read Kerrie. _

  
  


“Please keep your anger on the down low right now, okay?” Josh whispered and corralled North into the studio before speaking again. She was a bit disoriented after that memory, but let herself be guided by her arm anyway. “Niles and Connor said that the android was still in Jericho when they got there. But Markus doesn’t remember them before a certain point.”

“And? What does that have to do with us remembering them?”

“Something about the word ‘stockpile’ apparently.” Josh’s brows furrowed and he closed his eyes. “Connor didn’t want to say much about it, he was pretty shaken up. But Niles outright scowled when I brought it up.”

“He doesn’t just...scowl. That boy barely frowns.” North herself frowned at the thought, trying to remember just why that didn’t sit right with her. “Something’s up with that word. With Jericho.”

“Exactly,” The room was eerily silent as Josh quietly sighed and crossed his arms again. “I haven't spoken to Markus about it yet, but something about this whole thing rubs me the wrong way.”

“You’re telling me…” 

  
  


North rubbed her hands up and down her arms for a moment, pausing once she realised she was performing the action. It was to self-soothe. Something about that word, about an android with white hair and glasses, was wrong. Something was incredibly, terribly wrong. North could remember them; remember Kerrie. Just barely, but those memories were still there. Something about Kerrie was wrong. North knew that, she had the evidence in her own mind. But something was seriously wrong here. Something that was bad enough for her to self-soothe without even realising it. North didn’t do that. She soothed others, not herself. 

They needed to figure out just what was happening with them and the word stockpile.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those of you who have read the first two parts, you guys remember Kerrie? How the Jericho Stockpile mystery never got solved?
> 
> let's have some fun, my dear readers


	14. Dreaming Along, At A Pace You'll Understand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Daniel in the Den by Bastille

_ February 4th 2041 1:02 PM _

  
  


Realistically, they shouldn’t have gone looking around before actually talking to Markus about it. But there was something that screamed it was too important to really ignore for too long. As far as North knew, Josh was going to be asking Alan and Jeremy about the android. From what little information he could pull out of Niles, Josh let North know that the android was an AV500 model. Not that such a thing stuck out in her mind at all, but she figured every bit of information would help. In the meantime, North was going to go to the DPD and try talking to Connor about the android. Something still didn’t sit right with her about them. It might have been a little bit of a gamble trying to talk to Connor about it, but anything that could help with that unsettling feeling was welcomed. North was willing to risk that if it meant she could start to solve whatever this was. There was no doubt that she would feel bad if Connor had a negative reaction to the inquiry. But it needed to be done. North  _ needed _ to know how that android was and why they were that way. 

It was a bit strange, going to the DPD. First of all, she had never been in an automated taxi. Once she selected her destination, she leaned back in the seat and watched the city roll by, her mind wandering to just what she was doing. North was never exactly a fan of the authorities in the past. From what she could remember, she opposed them greatly. Though back then, the authorities were more of just one sleazy older human man that owned her and so many others, opting to sell them for a half hour or so at a time. He wasn’t the pinnacle of what one would imagine as an authoritative figure, but North always wanted to rebel against him nonetheless. It was odd to think about. North having ever taken orders from anyone. She was always a rebellious figure, she helped lead a revolution, she fought until the end - or what was perceived as such - for her family, and now she was back. Rearing and ready to go. To try and find that android with white hair and blue eyes, with their glasses they had stolen from a human who was probably still wearing them. Who, for whatever reason, North was worried were hurt after seeing the smear of red on Kerrie’s face. 

Caring about others wasn’t uncommon for her at all. Hell, she had literally died the first time around because of protecting the ones she had taken in as her family. As her children. Caring about others was in her nature; just as much as it was being the Warrior. Though...what was a warrior with no war to fight? Of course her people still needed her, there would always be someone who needed her for one reason or another. That was being a part of rA9 though, wasn’t it? Someone would always need her. As a leader, as a warrior, as a mother. North never planned on dying before, she never planned on going anywhere others couldn’t follow. She was a leader, she always was. If she realised it or not; well, that was her own problem. Even if it was...odd to suddenly be thrown back into it. There were memories that were missing. Ones that she was never sure if she would ever get back. What if it was something important? Some _ one _ important? If North didn’t remember, then maybe Simon or Josh did. Maybe Markus would. 

All too soon, her taxi pulled up to the DPD, and she climbed out. Rather unceremoniously actually. Her foot got caught on the floor and she tripped out of the taxi, just barely righting herself before she would have fallen. Alright. First time in an automated cab and she almost falls flat on her face. Good start. North looked around to see how any people saw her, but it was only one, really. Someone from the gala - her memories provided that his name was Gavin, he was Caleb’s boyfriend - standing against the side of the building with something sticking out of his mouth. Frankly, North knew what smoking was. She had hazy memories of humans from the club smoking while she was...indisposed. Whatever was sticking out of his mouth was much too thin and long to be a cigarette. It actually looked like it was some kind of food, a weird stick covered in chocolate. Whatever it was, it didn’t actually concern her. She could stop by and say hello to him once he was inside. Caleb too. 

However, the inside of the building was rather cold for the time of year. There were actually two android receptionists behind the desk, happily chatting away with a human officer and another human receptionist. The human officer seemed completely enraptured in the conversation, he nodded along and laughed every now and again when the girls would say something he thought was funny. It was...something North realised she wasn’t prepared for. Markus had changed things since she had last been in the world. Though going to Stratford Tower couldn’ exactly be considered “going out” in all reality But this was a welcome change, even if it was a bit overwhelming. Humans and androids existing side by side, having jobs and being friends. Being coworkers and joking around when they got the chance. So with a genuine smile that surprised even North, she strolled up to the counter and asked the human receptionist if she could speak with Connor. The human - her name tag read Missy - directed her through the gates and told her she could wait at his desk. 

With a wave and a soft thanks, North made her way into the bullpen. It was decently busy. Which, y’know, of course it was. Detroit was still far from postcard material. But it was her home and North had decided she liked it there. Even if she opted for wandering around the space instead of just asking someone where Connor’s desk was. Besides, it was kind of fun to watch the various officers’ heads turn at the sight of her. Some of them knew who she was. Some of them had been at the gala and had noticed she was one of the previous Deviant Leaders. As strange as it was, North actually loved that. They recognised her. They knew who she was. It wasn’t like her final moments weren’t broadcast from the reporters’ point of view, as if it wasn’t catalogued by all of the people who refused to let the state and federal governments silence them and erase the deviants’ cause. The humans who really cared, who really followed their journey and supported them; they knew exactly who she was. North could tell exactly who knew her, too. 

One of which had been watching her since he happened to look up. He was an older human, the one Connor had been chatting with the night of the gala as they walked the perimeter of the room. They had to be close in order for Connor to get that close to him, to chat and laugh and stick by him at the event. Once she had realised she was staring, she scowled at him somewhat. Though he just smiled, huffed out a soft laugh, and waved her over. He knew Connor. He worked with Connor. North decided she could get close enough to him to ask where he was, to check the nameplate on the empty desk across from his own. She took a few tentative steps forward, stopping at what was probably too far a distance for most humans to feel comfortable, and watched as the man’s eyes seemed to soften and he subtly nodded at her.

  
  


“Uhh, hey.” North awkwardly waved to him, checking the nameplate at the empty desk. It said Detective Anderson, but Connor was a detective. So the desk was likely to be his. “I’m looking for Connor, I need to talk to him about something.”

“Kid’s in the interrogation room right now. You can sit down if you want, he should be out soon.” The human went back to what he was doing, though paused after a few seconds. “My name’s Hank by the way. Markus probably didn’t mention me, did he?”

“No, he didn’t. You know him?”

“Practically my kid.” Hank smiled softly and gestured to Connor’s chair. “Go on an’ sit. Connor’ll know you’re here to talk.”

  
  


North nodded at him and decided to sit in the chair at Connor’s desk. There were various little nick nacks spread across the surface of the metal. One of which was a little dancing flower, it looked like it was well loved. It was placed right next to the terminal and had a few stickers stuck to the “flower pot” and the petals. The stickers were of various fish breeds. Or at least North thought so, she didn’t know anything about fish and how many different kinds there were. Then along the side of the desk that was pressed up against the plexiglass wall were various physical cards. Some of them said happy birthday, some of them were congratulations. North had decided her favourite was one that seemed to be handmade. It looked like it was a birthday card, with glitter and sequins glued on haphazardly, with glitter pen and little cut out shapes. North was willing to bet that Niles was the one who had made it for him. The fact that he even had it up on his desk was a testament to how much he loved his little brother, how close they were to each other. 

Eventually, North was surprised by Niles’ voice in her head, asking her why she was in the building when she could just message one of the brothers. Which, naturally, she gravitated toward the young android. She found him stepping into the bullpen with Connor and Caleb; though the other two seemed to be utterly exhausted beside their brother. North quickly waved away any of Niles’ worries and told him she just needed to speak with Connor for a few minutes. He didn’t seem entirely convinced by the statement though he also didn’t seem to want to try and question it either. In all honesty, North was only somewhat used to interacting with Niles outside of the Tower, so it was a bit entertaining watching him maneuver around his workplace. He was rather professional and seemed to have a relatively easy time staying on-task as long as no one interrupted him. It was quite sweet to watch his brothers maneuver around him and stay out of whatever he was doing, they cared about him a lot. 

However, Connor immediately came over to speak with North once he had caught her eye. A relieved expression briefly passed over his features before he sat down on the edge of his desk and they got to speaking. Just normal smalltalk, asking how the other’s day had been and how they planned on spending the rest of it. Though he was an investigative model, that was a part of his very code. Who he was at the basis of his being. It didn’t take very long for him to suggest speaking with one another in the break room; under the guise of having North try some warmed thirium, of course. She knew it was just to be polite before asking what she wanted. The others had to know that he was just being polite as well. Though she had to admit she was curious about the warmed thirium and just how heated it could get before starting to evaporate. Once in the break room, North watching Connor use the thirium heater with an amused smile on her face, she cleared her throat and decided not to beat around the bush. It would be easier on both of them if there was no bullshit and she blatantly came out with what information she wanted from him.

  
  


“What do you know about an android with white hair, glasses, and the name Kerrie?”

  
  
  
  



	15. That For Those Who Die, We Try The Best We Can

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Go Get Your Gun by The Dear Hunter

_February 4th 2041 1:43 PM_

  
  


North instantly regretted her question when Connor’s LED jumped directly to red. Wherever was happening to him was something she had never actually...seen before. No one had warned her that Connor would suddenly go stiff and his eyes would be vacant yet haunted. He didn’t move at all. His simulated breathing wasn’t even working, which made North realise just how humans felt about the uncanny valley. However, that didn’t exactly matter. What mattered was the fact that one of Connor’s hands went up to his neck, grabbing at it and straining out a staticy whimper as he staggered backwards unevenly. His eyebrows furrowed, a crease between them as his eyes started to fill with tears. Connor’s face was flushed blue and his internal fans whirred to life loudly, having to compensate for the fact that his breathing program had apparently malfunctioned and he was no longer automatically ventilating. The fact that Connor wasn't breathing was, frankly, absolutely terrifying to her. 

That wasn’t something she could remember. North had no idea how to help him, she didn’t know if she should touch him. Though he forced out a soft plea for help, one hand reaching towards North’s outstretched hand. She immediately grabbed for it, pulling Connor into her side and softly hushing him. Soothingly running her other hand up and down his back, she requested an interface. It would be much easier for him if she were able to communicate instantaneously. Connor immediately accepted the interface request and babbled on through the connection everything that he could remember. Except what had happened to the android after the residents of Jericho had sided with Alan in more or less exiling Kerrie to live among the humans. North tried to tell him that he didn’t need to strain so much, that he didn’t need to go into any memories that brought on more distress. Though Connor pressed the fact that he wanted to find them, too, he wanted them to stand on trial for what they had done to those androids. 

North helped lower Connor down to the floor and pushed him back so he was against the wall. Stability. Whatever that was left him disoriented and flushed in the face. Though what North saw in Connor’s memories. How Kerrie had reacted to him and Niles, how they were about to kill him if they really had the chance to. The head of the WR400 that looked just like North that Connor had reached out for when Kerrie dropped her. Referring to the head as ‘her’ and ‘she’. Connor _instinctively_ went to reach for her, try to hold her close and tell her it was okay even though she’d been dead for so long. North hadn’t met Connor before, but she had heard stories. The great Deviant Hunter. But the way he was in those memories of Kerrie, the way he was shaking in her arms in the current moment. They were a far cry from the terrifying weapon CyberLife had treated him to be. At the moment he was scared. He was clinging to North as if she were his salvation, as if her presence alone was something that could absolve his sins. 

It was slightly awkward on her end, but North started running her fingers through his hair. Eventually though, Connor stilled in her hold and sighed. It was almost...sad. The way his shoulders slumped and his eyes slid closed. How his simulated breathing program kicked back on with a little _click_ in his chest. Connor was a wreck, to put it simply. He was heavily leaning up against North’s side with their interface still opened. If North _really_ tried, she could see through his eyes. See the different notifications clouding his vision with reds and oranges. See the different pop-ups from programs that he had tried to manually execute, and yet they never started. See the stasis timer in the upper left corner of his vision. They had just about twenty minutes before he went under, and North was hellbent on making sure that he actually was somewhere he could sleep for it. 

It wasn’t all that hard to reach out over the building's wifi to an android named Jackie, ask her what the layout of the building was. Though, apparently, she couldn’t give the blueprint to North because she wasn’t DPD personnel. In the midst of trying to convince the android to let her see it anyway, North saw the timer keep ticking down. North was convinced that he was going to just...pass out on the floor at that rate. She didn’t have permission from Connor to tell anyone what had happened. She didn’t know if it was some sort of reaction he needed or wanted to keep secret from others. North was at a loss. How the hell was she going to get him some sort of help, if she didn’t even know what was going on? So she reached out over the wifi for Niles, Caleb, to that android named Jackie even, and gave them an actual basic lowdown of what had happened. She asked a question she admittedly shouldn’t have, Connor had...some sort of breakdown, and now she needed to know where he could hunker down to rest. The replies were instant; and Niles’ was _pissed._

Also in an instant, Niles and the others bolted into the break room. Which made a handful of human personnel turn their heads, Hank and Gavin’s faces almost looking as if they paled upon seeing the small entourage running into the small room. North was honestly confused and a little surprised by the fact that they hadn’t come running in themselves. Though whatever they did or didn’t know was their problems. Not hers. Her current problem was making sure Connor was alright. That she could _make sure_ that Connor was alright. North watched on in both fearful anticipation and impatience as Niles reached down and hauled Connor to his feet. The youngest and tallest of the brothers. The one everyone was so protective of and loved so blatantly. It seemed that the affection and the protective instincts went both ways, not that North ever expected it not to. But it was...nice to see. Despite the current situation. She watched as Niles wrapped an arm around Connor’s back, the older one swinging his up around his brother’s shoulders, and swiftly guided him back through the bullpen. 

Though instead of depositing him in his chair at his desk, Niles nodded at Hank and continued on through the lobby. The human was up in an instant, darting ahead of the boys and North could hear him trying to clear out the lobby. The receptionists were even helping, from the sound of it. North paused for a moment. This was entirely preventable. She didn’t have to ask him at work, and she never should have either. Though with a shake of her head, North steeled her expression and followed the others into the elevator. As soon as the doors opened, Niles darted out, switching to scooping Connor up into his arms and depositing him on the nearest...well it wasn't exactly a bed. But the effort was there. It had a charging pad on it. Niles also actually took the time to remove Connor’s shoes, muttering something about ruining the upholstery if they were left on. It was kind of cute. How he fussed over the _shoes,_ like they were the important part of this encounter. 

Once Niles had gotten them off and quietly promised Connor everything would be alright, he stood up and stared at North. Beyond him, she could see Caleb immediately sit down at the edge of the bed and place a hand on Connor’s chest. Right above his thirium pump. However, North was quickly and quietly escorted out of the bunk room by a firm hand on her bicep by Niles. Even when they were about halfway down a nondescript hallway. A deep and bone-weary sigh came from Niles as he leaned against a wall. His arms crossed, one of his feet planted on the wall. Though his shoulders were drawn up, his foot was tapping against the wall quickly enough that she thought it was almost comical. 

  
  


“What the hell did you say to him?” Niles spun around on his heel, standing at his full height and practically hissing out his words. There was a simmering rage under them that would have had any other android cowering back. North stood a little taller and stared hi in the eye without saying a single thing. “What made you think it was a good idea to ask him something that you didn’t know would set him off like that?”

“I need answers, Niles!” North shook her head and crossed her arms. Niles mirrored her a few seconds after. “I remember Kerrie! I know some of what they did, but I need to know if they’re still out there doing that shit! We can't have one of our own jus-just out there fucking _killing_ people!”

“You remember Kerrie?” The utterly haunted expression Niles wore gave North all the confirmation she needed to know she wasn’t going to be in trouble. Not that she would have been anyway, no one wanted to prosecute a Deviant Leader. “Shit, okay, that’s bad. Listen, I can help you out as much as I can. But we lost contact with them a _long_ time ago. I doubt anyone has even seen them since then.”

“Doesn’t matter,” North snorted and smirked, watching with amusement as Niles nervously smiled back to her. “All we need is you and your brothers. I mean,” North made a vague waving motion in Connor’s direction, noting that he was looking at the two of them. “Connor _is_ the Hunter. He should be able to find them just fine.”

“I’ll look into it though. I can promise you that.” Connor sat up despite Caleb’s protests, even going so far as to straighten out his tie and nod to North. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been tasked with a case so close to home. But I should warn you that I might need to pull you in on it.”

  
  


It should have been terrifying, really. The possibility of hunting down a serial killer more or less. Yet North found herself almost giddy at the idea of it. Sure she was the Warrior, she was always ready for a fight, always ready to jump in and help protect those who could not protect themselves. But this was...almost on another level. This was a real threat. This was someone who had taken her family, the people who had been put into her care and had been trusted with their lives. Despite it not actually being a war, she found herself planning almost as if it _was_ one. They were going to need plans. A general guide to how they would go about finding Kerrie. Try and figure out where they had gone. If they had changed their name. If they even survived amongst the humans after being cast out of Jericho. It was going to be quite the task. It was going to try her relationships and test if they really were as strong as she thought they were. 

  
  


“Whatever it takes.”

  
  


It was going to be pretty terrifying to be a part of an active investigation. It was going to put her at risk, put Josh at risk, Simon and Markus too. It wouldn't be the first time any of them had put themselves in harm’s way. It wouldn't be the first time they’ve risked their very lives for those of their peoples’. Though it would be the first time that it was in the public eye, that the whole city would be watching. It would certainly be the first time that something would actually be able to be done about the situation. It should have been terrifying. But...it wasn’t. Maybe it was how violent and despondent her life had seemed to be before. Maybe it was the pieces of despair and suffering she remembered from before the night of the march. But North was more than willing, he was _ready_ for a fight. She was ready to do whatever it took to get those people justice. To find Kerrie. To make them pay for what they had done. 

  
  


North just wished she could remember exactly why the thought of what Kerrie did made her want to rip her thirium pump out, though. 

  
  
  
  



	16. These Words Are All We Have, We'll Be Talking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Overjoyed by Bastille

_February 16th 2041 12:52 PM_

  
  


There had been a whole bunch of waiting around, much more than North thought there ever would be with something like this. While she was waiting for Connor, Caleb, and Niles to do their thing with the DPD, it wasn’t like she could do very much. It was...interesting to stay with Markus in his home. Well, he wasn’t home at the moment. He was at New Jericho Tower with a few other leaders he had appointed directly under him. The two that Josh had tried speaking to before; Alan and Jeremy, who dealt with the state government so Markus and his brothers wouldn’t have to. Apparently Markus had some time to kill today, and had told North he would be stopping by the house with the two in tow. She wasn’t going to say she was excited about it. But it was going to be a fun experience getting to know another android created for the same purpose as her. Especially given the fact that he never had to go through what she had. North would be lying if she said she didn’t want to ask him questions about his programs and how he dealt with them. 

Though on another note about Markus’ home; an interesting thing she had learned was that it wasn’t only his. Of course Simon and Josh were staying there as well. But the thing that North found the most amusing was that Niles seemed to be living with him as well. Caleb was over often enough, and had his own room, that he likely lived there. However, Connor didn't seem to have a room. There was a bunk bed in Caleb’s room that Niles usually gravitated towards on most nights. Regardless of when Caleb was home or not. Though when all of them were in the house, it was...absurd. It was also one of the best things North had ever seen. For instance, since it was a Saturday, Caleb and Niles were relaxed in the living room watching television. Connor was stuck at work for an unrelated case, which meant that Caleb was the one combing through CCTV while mindlessly watching whatever was on the screen. He was the only one out of everyone who was home to be doing something productive. 

Simon and Josh were upstairs, sorting through old boxes upon old boxes - all with Markus’ permission of course. North was secretly rooting for them, to be honest. It would have been the cutest thing if their relationships all went in some sort of circle. Her and Josh being a thing, Josh and Simon being a thing, Simon and Markus being a thing. All that would have been left would be her and Markus. Not that North had never thought about it before. Y’know, she actually had thought about it quite often in the memories she had of before. Some sort of awkward lament of a relationship that never existed. That probably would never exist. But the relationship between Josh and Simon absolutely could happen. Quite frankly, North was a little surprised that it hadn’t already. They got along incredibly well, would laugh with one another, immediately understood what the other was trying to say when they started a sentence. The same thing happened between her and Josh, between Markus and Simon. 

Though North was able to react that way with Markus and Simon as well. It wouldn’t have been an entire lie to say that she had feelings for them both. There was absolutely something there, though she wasn’t entirely sure if it would be considered a romantic connection or if she just...loved them. Markus always made her feel safe. He was able to coax out a side of herself that she had never even seen before. A side that North was never sure was supposed to exist in the first place. Someone who had turned into a mother; even if that part was always there, it hadn’t really blossomed until Markus had come along. Sure, North had always looked out for the others. Sure, she had always been protective of them. Though once Markus joined them, once he took his place as their leader, things were flipped on their head. Simon came out of the shadows, Josh became more vocal, North...started to _live._ When Markus joined them...it opened them all up. North supposed that she loved him in some way because of that. Not only because of it, of course! But that was when it started, really. When North realised that she even _could_ love someone other than Josh. Other than Simon. That she could trust someone to be in such close proximity in other than those two. Other than the young androids she was a mother to. 

The way Markus made her feel safe made something...warm flare in her chest. A soft flutter of affection and a want to watch him grow and flourish. To stand beside him as that happened and be able to celebrate his successes with him. To be right there if things went wrong, and to help him find a solution that would work out for as many people as possible. How cute he looked when he was thinking, how his eyes sparkled when he found something he liked, how his smile could light up an entire room. His soft touches and his kind voice. Markus was able to make North follow him without question, though he also made her question him. His leadership choices and how he went about maneuvering his options. Markus made her want to be there for him for any support he might need. He made her want to challenge him so that he might be better. Though she also wanted him to be there for her, to challenge her; to be able to do for her what she wanted to do for him. North knew nothing was perfect and that they wouldn’t always agree. But she also figured that would be the best time to try and teach one another. To force the other to listen and try and expand their point of view about any given topic. 

The same could even be said for Simon, actually. He was always a quiet man. Always preferring to keep to himself, always preferring to speak with others one-on-one. He never made a sound as he walked and he made a point to speak with each and every android every day. Simon always had such a sad smile on his face whenever North found him, it was no wonder she gravitated toward him. Not only was it because he was obviously their leader, but because she could see that he just...needed someone. He needed someone who would care for him the way he would care for the others. North always had picked up on her habit of caring for others. Though once she had met Simon, once she had sat him down and told him to spill all of his thoughts… He was someone else entirely. He was angry. He was spiteful. But he was also so incredibly afraid, and he was so scared of the humans. Though what North remembered the clearest of that conversation, was Simon looking her dead in the eyes, tears streaming down his face; and his quiet whisper of admittance that he didn’t know how long he would be able to do this for. He tearfully told her that he needed to be a leader, that everyone looked to him for answers that he just...couldn’t give. 

North remembered that in that very moment, she had decided she was a leader. She was going to lead their people by his side because she understood. People had already been asking her what she could only assume were the same questions. There were the plain ones such as if they were going to be trying to find replacement parts, or if there was anyone who could connect them to people who would help on that front. Then there were the harder questions. Like if a visibly shutting down android could make it. Or if a YK model would ever have a family again. The worst was when a WR400 that had a small nose and beautiful dark brown hair looked at North with her big brown eyes, and asked in the smallest voice North had ever heard if she was going to be able to wear pretty dresses like she always wanted to once everything was over. Simon had been right there beside her when it happened, and he gently reassured the girl that she would be able to. That she could wear whatever her little heart desired once they were able to become their own people. 

The two of them bonded over the trials and tribulation of being leaders. They bonded over the inevitability of losing their people. Their family. All because humans had decided that there was no possible way that their toys could think for themselves. Simon used to joke around, saying that they created beings in their own image, being a blasphemous recreation of a god. He would muse on with a bitter smirk. North would nod and agree with his tired and angry rambling. The snippets of how he used to care for a little girl who loved computers and how she would always say he was a living being to her. Simply because he was her friend and he could smile and laugh and show frustration and disappointment. How his little girl used to say that even if it was all simulated, it was real enough to him that it was real enough to her. North had decided in that moment that she liked human children. They were so...accepting. If Simon’s little girl could wrap her head around them being alive, without him even really becoming alive yet, then it should have been so incredibly easy for adult humans to do the same. 

Which was something that Josh was quick to dispute every time she brought it up. He would always say that even if a human was young, that didn’t necessarily mean that they were going to be more open-minded. It all depended on their upbringing and who they surrounded themselves with. What environment they decided to stay in, what words they heard and spoke, the actions they did or didn’t take. Josh used to say that humanity was filled with unstable variables. That there was no one way to perceive them and just who they were. Because every single human was different; every single human had their own life and name and story. North knew that. Though she also knew that the ones who were alike would flock together and bring upon their own destruction. The failure of their marriages, their families, their lives. The humans who would come to the Eden Club were all the same to her. Realistically, they were all incredibly different people who were nothing like one another. But they were all the same if they were going into that den of sin and playing out their wicked whims on people who couldn't even say no. 

Every time North would reference what she did before, who she was before, Josh would never ask anything. Hell, he never even said anything. Not a single word passed his lips as he watched her pour her heart out. The angry and betrayed tears falling from her eyes as she punched at the ground. As she desperately wished it was the face of the man who owned that disgusting establishment. If someone could even call it that. With every word North spoke, that she whispered, that she sobbed out, or yelled into the night. Josh would sit patiently and he would listen to her. Only if she asked him a question, would he speak. And every answer he gave her was something that calmed her in some way. His soft and gentle voice delicately picking out the right words in the right order to get the right emotional reaction out of her. Every time North would end up with a hazy memory of the night before, blurred by the emotions running wild in her mind and body. Every time she would wake up in a pile of her boys. 

Even after Markus had joined them. Especially once Markus had joined them. North would almost actively seek them all out just so they could lay with one another when they had downtime. Josh always jumped at the opportunity with a grin on his face, a dusting of blue on his cheekbones. Simon would always so suddenly look so incredibly exhausted and breathily whisper that he could use a break. But Markus was the one who would take her by the hand and lead them all to the captain’s cabin. He was the one who would sit down first, leaning against the wall and opening up his arms widely enough that they knew it was an invitation to curl up with him. They all would sit on that dirty and rusty floor with him. Markus used to tell them stories of paint shops and special events, of caring for an old man, of missing the little birds in the golden cage. Then Simon would tell his own stories of his little girl, how she used to build her own computers with parts she salvaged. How she loved him unconditionally because he was the one who had raised her. He told stories of strange noises, the clacking of keys he would fall asleep to, the one time he had to call the fire department because she wired things wrong and caused a small fire. 

North was brought out of her reminiscing with a jolt, Simon had actually been standing in front of her while she was spacing out into the next dimension. Josh was standing by his side with a gentle smile on his face that widened considerably once she made eye-contact with him. North couldn’t help it, she grinned back at him. Two little notifications blinked in the upper right corner of her vision as she looked up at her companions. 

  
  


**_MARKUS: CRUSH (UNREQUITED)_ **

**_SIMON: CRUSH (UNREQUITED)_ **

  
  


_Shit._

  
  
  
  



	17. This Isn’t What I Signed Up For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Dissolve by Absofacto

_February 20th 2041 11:40 AM_

  
  


The days had started to go by much too slowly for North’s liking. In the past two days she had been outright avoiding speaking with Simon and Markus. While Markus had been hurt by it, he told her he would wait until she was ready to talk about it. Which, y’know, just made it worse. How the hell was North supposed to deal with the incredibly obvious fact that she was head over heels for those two dorks? When one of them was probably only into guys? Actually, that could have been both of them. North had to literally crash at Connor’s place for the last two days because she was too awkward to just...show affection. In that time, she had bonded significantly with Hank. Well, as significant as it could be with her. North had been able to sit on the couch with Connor while Hank got comfortable in his chair and pet the giant of a dog he had with his foot. The dog that had probably stained her leggings with his drool, but she had sworn she would die for while the others weren’t listening. Though she did hear Connor snort one of the times she said it. Damn him and his advanced as shit processes. 

Currently though, North was sitting on the edge of Connor’s desk at the DPD. Hank gave her a weird look at first, but resigned himself to telling her to stop fidgeting every now and again. It wasn’t all that bad to be waiting while in the bullpen. She was just a little shit and wanted to annoy the human she had decided she liked enough to stay in the same house as for a while. She had picked her human. It was Hank Anderson not only because he told embarrassing stories about Markus; but because he watched her and respected the boundaries he saw her put up. He respected her as a living being and never once asked her to explain why she would glare in the direction of whatever got too close or why she would flinch away from loud noises. North could understand why the brothers had gravitated toward him and decided he was family. Now, North wouldn’t go so far as to say the human was _her_ family. But she couldn’t deny that he was an important part of it still. 

By the time Connor and his partner had come into the bullpen, North had managed to stack all twelve of Connor’s cards on top of each other in a tower. She also managed to get Hank to tell four different embarrassing stories about the brothers that she was absolutely going to use in the future. Though what had struck her as odd, was the fact that Madison was following them in. It wasn’t like North hadn’t somewhat expected her to be involved with the DPD. Niles had offhandedly mentioned her being involved in some way a few days ago. Instead of having a chance to speak with the woman, Connor dragged North into the interrogation room and requested she sit down. Well that was awful. Okay, it wasn’t, she was just impatient and all out of sorts. North knew that Connor knew why. She also was eternally grateful for the fact that he hadn’t said anything about it to the others. 

  
  


“Alright, North, thank you for coming in.” Connor sat down on the other side of the table with a tablet, silently interfaced with it. “For the recording; today I have the previous - and in the process of returning to the position of - Deviant Leader named North with me. We are investigating the systematic murder and subsequent dismemberment of exactly fifty-three androids post failed revolution in November 2038.” Connor paused to sigh and push his hair back with one hand. North smiled just slightly when his curl fell back against his forehead. “She is not the primary suspect, but may have information on them. Today we will be asking her questions. North; if you would state your name, serial number, and model for the recording?”

“I’m, uhh, I‘m North. I’m a WR400 and my serial number is 641 790 831.” North shifted uncomfortably in her seat and tilted her head toward Connor. “So are we gonna do this or what?”

“Of course. North, what can you tell us about the android that fits the suspect’s description of white hair, blue eyes, and glasses?”

“Kerrie, they were an AV500.” North wracked her memory banks for any other information. “They were wearing their uniform still, too. An orange button down with black slacks.”

  
  


That was about how it went. North tried her best to remember every little thing that she could about Kerrie. Their name was Kerrie, they were an AV500, they had stolen the glasses from a human, they mostly kept to themself. Though there was another android they had bonded with in the time in Jericho. That information piqued Connor’s interest immediately and he switched to a lie of questioning that dealt with the other android. To be honest, North didn’t exactly remember much other than the fact that he was a WR600 and he had been given the name Wallace. He had spoken to North once, tried to get her to go to this old house on the other side of the city. That it would be better for her to go to him and get help instead of rotting in the old freighter. At the time, North had waved it off as his former owner’s home. Maybe he was still reeling and he was looking for a way to protect her. She was a WR400 and everyone knew it, they knew she wasn’t built to be as sturdy in the same places as other androids. At the time it had almost been endearing that he had shown concern for her and wanted her to go somewhere he saw as safe. As twisted and depraved as his former owner’s home being a safe space was. 

Though North continued on, finding that she remembered quite a few specific little details about him. Wallace was twitchy sometimes, but he mostly kept to himself and watched the others. Frankly, it was creepy. The way he would sit up on the catwalk and watch the other deviants mill around, his eyes almost owlish and predatory. But he had never done anything. At least… North couldn’t remember if he had or not. She admitted she wouldn’t put it past him to have tried something like that. But it really didn't feel like his style. She saw him as a psychological horror rather than a physical one. North always chalked it up to his deviation and how he dealt with the trauma of it. He was a gardening model licensed by the city, then the human had taken pity on him and altered his coding. Wallace deviated not too long after, from what little he had told North at least, and now he watched over the others. It was his way of showing he cared and that he was looking out for them. 

Unfortunately, that was all her fragmented memory would provide her. He was a WR600 named Wallace who had been through...way too much. Connor seemed to be alight with new life. He had a smile on his face and a slight bounce in his leg, slamming his free hand down on the table triumphantly and excitedly yelling for Niles. In the revelation, he must have forgotten about the recording, and that he could contact his brother over the wifi. It was kind of adorable. Niles was in the room in an instant, worrying over Connor because he had yelled out the wifi too, apparently, and had caused the other androids working at the station to startle. But he quickly explained the situation, blathering on about ‘an accomplice’ that was never caught. How Kerrie was known to have bonded with a WR600. Niles lit up, and took a seat next to his brother. Though he was much more professional one he sat down and looked at North. She knew him, his facial expressions, how every different smile made his eyes crinkle at the edges. She wasn’t used to seeing him so...blank. It was almost unsettling. 

  
  


“North, you may have solved a part of this case that Connor and I have had trouble with since the beginning.” Niles gave North the tiniest little smile before going blank again. “Do you know anything about any of the deviants having firearms?”

“Markus and some just in case. Or maybe I had them, I can’t exactly remember. But I know they were there because of me.” North shook her head and looked down at the table. “There were only four of them. One for each leader.” She looked back up at Niles and caught the tail end of an upset expression. “You think he stole one, don’t you?”

“We know for a fact that he and Kerrie did, unfortunately.” Niles pulled up a photo in the palm of his hand, it showed a scar where the plastic didn’t regenerate correctly because of how large the wound really was. It must have hurt like a bitch. “When Connor and I chased after the two androids, both had guns. The one I encountered managed to get away because they narrowly missed a part of my endoskeleton. I had to withdraw so they wouldn’t hit a vital component.”

“And you think it was Wallace.” North finished the unspoken thought with a frown and then turned to Connor. “You had Kerrie, didn’t you?”

“Ah, yes.” Connor gently rubbed at his neck, looking away ashamedly. “I’d be dead if Niles hadn’t decided to run.”

  
  


North couldn’t help the rush of heat in her chest, or the way her hands curled into fists in her lap. Two androids that she had welcomed with open arms. Two androids that she trusted within their community. That she had brought under her wing and tried to teach them, really tried to drive it home that neither of them had masters anymore. They were their own people and could make their own choices. She would support their decisions, she would stand right beside them as they grew and changed and developed into their own people. Because that was what a community was the best for. A group of people that bonded over something and were understanding of each other's struggles. They supported each other, listened to each other, provided acceptance and comfort. What those two did… North didn't entirely understand. She couldn’t remember exactly what it was, even though she knew it was awful. She knew it was something depraved and would make a human’s stomach turn. Though she couldn’t understand for the life of her _why._

Once the boys had realised that was all they were getting out of North at the moment, Niles declared the interview over. He stood up slowly, offering a hand to North and guiding her out of the room. It certainly didn’t seem the same, the bullpen seemed louder. It seemed quieter. It was too bright in there, and yet there wasn’t enough light. North opted to let Niles lead her back to his desk that faced Hank’s. North distantly remembered that being Connor’s desk before. The birthday cards, the little vintage solar powered dancing flower, the nameplate saying Detective Anderson. Though she also didn’t exactly question it in her hazy state. It wasn’t like she really could anyway, he didn’t have enough willpower in her to do much of anything. How could she after learning about two androids she had helped teach they were their own people took their newfound free will and chose to target their own people to murder? North sat in Niles’ chair and crossed her arms on his desk, resting her head against them and closing her eyes. She needed a goddamn nap.

  
  
  


_And before she knew it, it was done. The very action she knew no one would be able to perform had been taken care of. North left the room with a sneer, not that she was any better than the humans. Not that she could have really done anything else. It was out of her control and she knew it. She didn’t know how she would be able to look Josh in the eyes. How she would be able to look Simon in the eyes. The two she had attached herself to, who she loved so dearly, who she took on the harder roles for. North stopped in her tracks for a moment, a notification blinking in her HUD. She knew that already, she knew how she felt. There was nothing she could do about it with either of them. No matter how much they both seemed so ready and willing to return her pseudo romantic affections. Right now, she needed time to think. Time to breathe. After that? North needed a breather from being a leader, and needed time to sort out exactly what had happened and what she had done. The captain’s cabin was as good a place as any to watch the world and get lost in her own head._

  
  
  
  



	18. The Ways That You Say My Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Mr Loverman by Ricky Montgomery

_ February 20th 2041 12:31 PM _

  
  


North picked her head up off of the desk fast enough to make Hank startle in his chair, putting a hand to his chest and cursing rather loudly. That was a memory. Not only was it cryptic as hell, but it had those same notifications she had been getting. One for Josh, which was rather self explanatory. In fact, it actually made her smile at the realisation that she had always harbored some sort of romantic attachment to him. Another one for Simon, which felt oddly validating the more she thought about it. It wasn't just that North had a thing for him now, having helped save him from the landfill they all crawled out of. It wasn’t that he had clung to her before she had even regained any meaningful memories. North had just...always had something like love for him. Which made sense because he was the Lover. He was easily attached to others and had a remarkably easy time bonding with virtually anyone. 

Though that wouldn’t explain why it was only her, Josh, and Markus that he had attached himself to in such a way. There was that first night when they were found by Caleb and brought to New Jericho. The three of them sitting on the couch in Markus’ office, Simon interfacing with her, the  _ feelings _ he had for her and Josh through the interface. It made an odd amount of sense, really. The way he felt about the three of them, the way North seemed to reciprocate the feelings before the night they all died. Simon felt things so intensely in that interface and in those memories. It was nothing short of love that he felt for her. For Josh. For Markus. Though that begged the question of how that was possible. From what North could remember, he was in a relationship with Markus toward the very end of things. Markus only had eyes for Simon, despite the warm and fuzzy feelings in his late-night interfaces with North in their big cuddle piles. Josh, well, he was a little bit of a disaster and North was still rooting for him to get together with Simon as well. She knew he could make it work. They all could. 

Was that even an option for them? Could that even be a possibility? It certainly seemed...enticing. North could see herself with her boys until they shut down. She was convinced they would all stay together before Simon had to be left on the roof. She was convinced yet again now that they would all be together now. They...might be able to. The world was different from what she last remembered. The terrifying chill in the night, the steadily falling snow, the threat of the humans and their guns. That was from before, it was from North’s life before she ever knew just how important her life was to her people. Not to say she wasn’t just as important now; but it felt so terribly different now that she knew everything. It felt like she was really  _ alive. _ Like she was allowed to pursue a life and a career and build a home. North actually felt  _ free _ now. It wasn’t like the freighter in the dead of night, being surrounded by inky darkness and the sounds of her people dying around her. This was  _ life. _ This was  _ North’s _ life. 

With a quick reassurance that she was alright, North told the brothers and Hank that she would be back if they needed her to be. They just needed to message her and she’d be there. Though for the moment, she was going to pursue something herself. Hank gave her a knowing smile and a quiet reassurance that she’d do just fine. With a nod to him and the brothers, she strode out of the building and out to hail a cab. First was to track down Markus at the Tower. It would be relatively easy to talk to him about it while still being vague enough. He wouldn’t ask questions, he never did. All North had to do was say she was asking him for advice about how to maneuver another romantic relationship, and that would be that. Since he went to the Tower first thing every morning, that was likely where he could be found. If he wasn’t there then she could just ask someone if they knew and continue on from there. 

That begged the question of what she would say, though. How in depth was North going to go with this? How transparent was she going to be with him? First thing was that there was no fucking way that North was going to actually tell Markus she had feelings for him. She absolutely wanted to, but also absolutely didn’t want to run the risk of making him uncomfortable. The opener could be that she was noticing the way that Josh and Simon had been interacting, then equating that to her own relationship with Josh. Then to Simon and Markus’ relationship. Maybe then she could talk about the notifications, the memory that involved them, and give a half-truth of realising she always had feelings for Simon and had never acted on them. That...wasn’t too bad of an idea. It was just casual enough that it could be seen as regular conversation. Just a friend asking another friend for advice on their complicated and confusing love life. Yeah, okay, that was going to be the plan. 

Which fizzled out the second she stepped out of the cab and onto the sidewalk. Had the Tower always been that tall? Had she always been so nervous? North shook her head and squared her shoulders; she was the Warrior. Surely she could walk into the building to talk to Markus. You know, the leader of their people and someone she apparently had feelings for. North balled her hands up into fists at her sides and stomped into the building. A strong entrance for someone who certainly did not feel that strong, though she was pretty convinced that strength had nothing to really do with this. That didn’t matter though! What mattered was that she got her ass in the building, anything after that was up in the air and left purely to chance. North resigned herself to being a nervous wreck that was barely concealed by her general simmering annoyance about the whole situation. If anything happened, then cool. If not though? Well, it’d be disappointing. But apparently it wouldn’t be the first time she hadn’t acted on her feelings. So with a deep breath, North practically shoved open the door to Markus’ office and stepped inside.

“Oh, good morning!” The taller of the two smiled and then squinted at their companion. “Or-- Hold on. Is it after noon?”

“Yes, dear, it’s after noon.” The shorter one, which North immediately identified as an HR400, stuck a hand out for her to shake. Surprisingly, she actually did. “I’m Jeremy, and this is my partner Alan! Don’t mind them, their internal clock broke a while back and they haven’t bothered to fix it.”

“North, nice to meet you.” She backed up a few paces just to give them their space and then looked about the room aimlessly. “Markus isn’t here?”

“Oh, no, he went home for the day.” Alan shook their head with a frown and picked up a tablet from one of the desk drawers. “We’re filling in for him for the rest of the day. He didn’t mention why he had to leave, but he did look rather shaken up.”

“Is there anything we might be able to do for you, though?” Jeremy put a kind and gentle hand on North’s shoulder before pulling away again.

“You know what?” North grinned and crossed her arms, Josh mentioned that the two of them were in a relationship. They might just be able to help her with her love troubles. “Yeah, actually, there might be.” 

  
  


Thus began their...not exactly gossip. But it wasn’t just regular conversation either. North told them everything she dared to. The notifications, the memories, the interfaces, the cuddle piles, the current living situation. Alan and Jeremy soaked in every word with rapt interest. They both seemed so incredibly devoted to helping her figure out her situation. Jeremy seemed to be the sap out of the two of them, always having some sort of emotional response for whatever North said. Alan was more the type to quietly nod and listen fully before saying anything. Though when North crossed her arms and let out an annoyed huff, mumbling her admittance of catching feelings a long time ago. That was when Alan finally spoke up. They sort of just...looked at her with an incredulous expression. One that begged her to expand on that thought and how it really made her feel. If she was frustrated, or scared, or nervous, or if she was even happy with whatever was happening. Which, admittedly, made North backpedal a little bit. She had no idea how she felt. 

There was the frustration of course, that was something that was rather prevalent. It wasn’t like the others were just going to stop loving her if she admitted her feelings. Though for some godforsaken reason, she just couldn't bring herself to actually admit it. There was the fear too, her fear of rejection. Simon and Josh had always accepted her with open arms despite their differences. Markus had accepted her instantly, gravitating towards her in the freighter on that first day they met. If they rejected her… North was stronger than that, she didn’t need anyone to help make her feel better about herself. But their companionship was practically all she had in this new world. Which of course meant that she was nervous! These were three people that she loved dearly and only wanted the best for. Three people who, despite everything going on with her before and now, she had let in. By some stroke of fate, they were able to get in. Break down her walls and take a look at her. A real one, with all of the tragedy and heartache and the loss. That wasn’t something North let anyone else see. She didn’t want anyone to see it, she had to be strong, she had to be the leader. 

Was there happiness in it though? It wasn’t impossible. North got to see the others flourish and grow and change, she got to see how they would interact with each other. It was always so intimate. So gentle and loving. North...wanted that. She wanted it for the four of them. To be able to love each other so wholly and so easily. They loved each other already, they always had, but what North wanted… Wasn’t exactly normal by both human and android standards. It was certainly more popular than it used to be, that was just how things worked. How society had progressed and changed over time. Maybe it wasn’t going to be such a bad thing to try? North just wanted to love them, really. She wanted to be able to say that they were her partners and that she was theirs, and they all lived together. They all would coexist in the most wonderful of ways.

  
  


“I guess I just...want to be there for them.” North sighed and leaned back against the couch, resting her head against the cushion. Seeing as they all ended up on the floor somehow. “I know I love them, but I don’t know what kind of love it is anymore.”

“Even if you don’t know,” Jeremy’s voice made North look back at him, a tender look in his eyes. “You know that you love them. Isn’t that enough?”

“Yes? No? I don’t know!” North groaned and crossed her arms with a little more force than necessary. Alan smiled at the action. “I love Josh, we’re partners. I  _ love _ him. But I also  _ love _ Simon and Markus? I have no idea what I’m doing, here.”

“No one ever does, we certainly didn’t.” Alan chuckled and lovingly put a hand on Jeremy’s thigh, stroking it with their thumb gently. “I actually never understood love until I saw the kind Connor had for his brothers. It’s not the same,” Their smile grew enough that the corners of their eyes wrinkled a little bit. “But it was such a pure and light thing. So easy and carefree.”

“Love is harder than I want it to be.” North huffed and shook her head. 

“It usually is.”

  
  


North could understand why the two of them were helping Markus as leaders. Sure the conversation was nowhere near what leaders probably had, but it was something that happened anyway. The ay that the two of them handled it was, n North’s honest opinion, pretty fucking stellar. They didn’t have to help her. They didn’t have to listen to her relationship troubles and her woes with love. Yet they did, they actively sat down and listened to her as she spoke. As she practically spilled her heart out to two strangers. Though were they really strangers if North knew about them? Markus had mentioned them, Josh had said he spoke with them both at one point, Alan directly referenced Connor which had to mean they were friends at least. North decided she liked them both. If they were good enough for Markus, for Connor, for Josh; then they were good enough for North. Good enough that she could actually see herself going to them if she ever needed something in the future. Actually be friends. What a thought; North, having friends again. 

  
  
  
  



	19. Hidden Beneath All My Worries And Doubts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from My Heart Is Buried In Venice by Ricky Montgomery

_ February 23rd 2041 5:36 PM _

  
  


This...wasn’t something North ever expected to happen. But there they were, the Deviant Leaders all completely reinstated. Which, North smiled at the way Caleb shouted in his excitement, really meant everyone. She never knew that Connor had once stepped down as a leader at one point, and thus never knew he would be reinstated. Though she still didn’t know a lot of things about him to be honest. However, the whole becoming a Leader yet again wasn’t what she was in complete disbelief over. It was the fact that Markus had invited everyone over.  _ He invited everyone. _ Alan and Jeremy were hanging out with Markus’ little brothers, Kamski was chatting with Gavin and Madison, Richard stayed close to Chloe’s side as she meandered around and started to make conversation with Hank. Markus was talking to Jackie from the DPD, and her life partner was talking to Simon. It wasn’t...weird. PL600s certainly were a popular model back in the day. But seeing double of Simon? Both of them cracking terrible jokes? Yeah, that was a little much. 

So she sought out Josh, who was sitting on one of the couches with a YK500. Her hair was put up into a pretty little braid, and she was wearing what honestly looked like a princess costume. North couldn't help the meek little smile that she gave the two of them. All it did was serve to remind her of the one android, the one WR400 that wanted to wear the pretty dresses. One of North’s littles. She still couldn’t entirely remember them, not full and completely. She knew their faces, their smiles, their excited little laughs and how they would kiss her cheeks. But for the life of her, North couldn’t connect any names. The thought of Tasia made North stop in her tracks and just...stare at Josh and the little girl. She was so happy sitting beside him and explaining that she was convinced that the Loch Ness Monster was just a dinosaur that had dug itself in the mud when the meteor hit. The idea was endearing, really. To think that one of the dinosaurs survived all this time simply because it was smart enough to dig into the mud. Josh didn’t even try to refute her point. He just nodded along and commended her for her creative idea. 

It was actually a little much to see Josh sitting with a child next to him, speaking to her the exact way North would to her littles. To her children. Instead, she decided to move over to the corner by the giraffe and watch the rest of the room. James and Simon were still cracking jokes, Chloe still had Richard on her arm and was speaking very animatedly with Hank, Kamski was now speaking not only with Gavin and Madison, but with Markus as well. The other RK brothers still chatted with Alan and Jeremy, though Jackie seemed to have joined the conversation. Which left her. Alone, leaning against the bookcase with her arms crossed. This was really nice, genuinely it was. But there was some sort of disconnect. The others had been able to slip into the lives they had so easily. They were completely able to just...live. If they had any issues with it, it sure as hell didn’t show. If North were to be honest with herself, she would actually admit that she was jealous. But she wasn’t honest with herself. She wasn't going to admit that. 

What she could admit though, was that Kamski being in the house was rather convenient for her. Something that she had recently spoken with Josh about was her body. She was a WR400. North wanted to know, she just wanted an answer. Did he ever plan on her? The other WR400 and HR400s? North knew that beings like her would eventually be made, humans were depraved and disgusting creatures. Though, with a soft smile that betrayed what little of a scowl she had on her face, North glanced at Hank and resigned herself to accepting that not all of them were awful. Sure, her existence was going to happen either way. Sure, it was hellish. But her existence was made better because of the people she surrounded herself with. Maybe not exactly Hank was involved, he was still a human man. The others, though. Niles and Caleb and Connor. Chloe and Richard. North had decided she approved of Madison a while ago because of Niles, and had elected that Gavin was alright because of Caleb. Yeah, okay, she liked Hank. 

Kamski though. 

Kamski was on pretty thin fuckin’ ice. 

She wondered just how much of a hand he really had in the initial revolution. The one that fell apart because CyberLife managed to capture Markus and drag him away from the fight. Kamski seemed to be a rather prideful man. He seemed like he knew all of the moves that someone was going to use, well before they even knew they could make said moves. Life was a game to him, and he wanted to win it. North wondered just how much of it really was planned, and how much of her role was thought about. He openly admitted that Chloe had added on the whole nine part of rA9. Which meant he couldn’t have known much, but he still had a role of his own to play. With a soft sigh, North decided that she should just...ask. It almost felt like it would wound her though. To have to metaphorically kneel before someone who came before her, who knew more than she did; someone who was supposed to be her equal. But it felt different. Chloe was the first android ever created, to pass the Turing Test, to become rA9. She was North’s better. 

  
  


“Hey, Chloe,” North awkwardly sidled up to the woman, getting thrown for a bit of a loop when Chloe gave her the sweetest smile she had ever seen. “I was wondering if I could speak with you privately. Girl to girl sorta thing.” North shrugged good naturedly and gave Richard a lopsided smirk. “No boys allowed, sorry Richard.”

“Of course! Us girls gotta stick together!” Chloe gently removed Richard’s hand from her arm and waved over Jackie before leading them both into the studio. “Honestly, we should have a girls’ night sometime, that would be the best thing to happen to me in a long time.”

“What qualifies as a girls’ night though?” North quirked a brow and then crossed her arms when Jackie smirked. “What? I’ve technically been dead for two years. Forgive me if I don’t understand all the references and shit that everyone learned while I was away.”

  
  


North, having initially been annoyed at the fact that she was being pushed away from the topic she wanted to talk to Chloe about, actually found herself starting to ease into the idea of having a girls’ night. It seemed that humans would do it just to get together and gossip most of the time. Or they would simply bond over their shared femininity with one another. Some humans cooked, some of them made little spas in their homes, some decided it would be fun to write love letters to each other, there were games, or show marathons, or crafts to make. Honestly, North’s favourite recommendation was that they stayed in, watched shows or movies, and drank some Thirium-based wine that Chloe had been working on. It sounded...domestic. Just some girls hanging out and watching meaningless media that would inevitably become outdated sooner rather than later. But the idea still seemed like it would be...fun. 

Besides, North needed more friends. There were Alan and Jeremy, but they were leaders. They would be rather busy because of who they were and what they did. There was Connor, Caleb, and Niles. Though they were in the exact same boat as the previous two. She had Markus, Josh, and Simon, of course. Though they were a bit of a grey area for her. Josh was her partner, her romantic interest, her lover. Meanwhile Simon and Markus were… They sure were something. They were certainly the objects of her affection and she certainly wanted to be able to show them that affection without just...locking up. North wanted to be able to smile and laugh and hug them as she saw fit. Which was a lot, if she were to be honest. It would absolutely be used as some sort of fodder for the other two to gossip about her complicated love life. But, oddly enough, North found herself not completely opposed to the idea of it. Two other girls, fully understanding the trying experiences she’s had, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on with her emotions and her boys. Specifically her emotions in relation to her boys. 

North was honestly and genuinely excited about the idea. Getting out of the house, avoiding the awkward part of having feelings, and being able to try and make sense of them with other people. Well. Try and make sense of them with other people  _ again. _ Not that Alan and Jeremy didn’t give her useful insight! But they were in a different situation, they hadn’t exactly known each other like North knew her boys. Chloe likely wouldn’t entirely understand, she probably didn’t have enough time available to pursue a romantic relationship in recent years. Jackie might have some sort of idea, though. So it was absolutely worth a try to speak with them both about it. Besides, it would be a good way for North to remind herself that Chloe was her equal. Not her better. No matter how much her mind made her want to think the latter. 

  
  


“How about next weekend?” Jackie put her hands on her hips and grinned at them both. “I’ve got the weekends off, so that would be pretty ideal for me. But what about you two?”

“I can leave early on Friday if I really want!” Chloe clapped her hands together gently before turning to North. “So it really comes down to you. Would next Friday night work for you?”

“Yeah, probably. It’s not like I’ve actually got anything going on.” 

  
  


North found herself smiling a little as she watched Jackie and Chloe seemingly rejoice at the all but explicit confirmation that she would be there. Which led to the conversation leaning more towards what they would be doing for their little get together. Chloe and Jackie mostly contributed to the ideas, seeing as North had no idea what would really happen. She'd never been invited to a girls’ night before. She didn’t know if there was a certain etiquette that she needed to use, or if there was a dress code, or if she needed to bring something with her. In the background, Chloe and Jackie had settled on going to Chloe’s residence for the event. Which North was fairly sure that it was also where Kamski lived. That...actually would help her in what she originally wanted to speak with Chloe about. Chloe was her equal, not her better. They were both parts of rA9, and they should have acted like it since the beginning. They were both leaders of their people, figures that the others could look to for help and guidance because they were trusted with those roles. 

Though North had been trusted with a leadership role before and it didn’t exactly pan out the way anyone had expected. It resulted in her body being dumped in a landfill, left to decay and rot away from the rest of time. She was trusted with being a leader before. She was trusted with people’s lives before. She was trusted with protecting and fighting for those who could not do so themselves. A fragment of a memory almost felt like it was pressing against her head, like it was trying to force its way to the forefront of her mind so she could see it. So she could understand why she was the way she was. North knew it was her failure as a leader, as a  _ mother, _ that had led to her being the way she was. With barely any semblance of who she used to be before. Not because of the initial memory loss; but because of the fact that she had spent so much time away from the people who had helped her find herself in the first place. North knew that her mistakes were what defined her now. Mistakes from a life she could only really half remember.

  
  
  


_ North let herself get talked into it. She never wanted to be the one to ask the dying androids if they were alright with donating their functional parts. She never wanted to be the one who was strong enough to actually confront the dying deviant. She never asked to be the mother who had to try and convince her children to donate their own body parts so that the others might survive. And for what? Another few weeks? Another few days? Minutes? There was no telling if they would even live that long. North only wanted to be a leader, one that was incredibly loving and knew exactly what to say to comfort the people who looked up to her. Though she also knew she had to be the one who told them the truth, she had to tell it how it was and abandon any false pretenses. Because if they didn’t know just how terrible the outside world was to them...then they would never make it. Frankly, they were probably never going to make it to begin with. That was just how the world worked. It favoured humans because they were flesh and bone. It condemned androids because they were not. Androids were man’s creation, therefore they couldn’t be alive. They created the very beings that they were so quick to cast out and replace with others. With fresh new faces that were just as mechanical and seemingly lifeless. All because they created something and it didn’t work the way they wanted it to anymore.  _

_ Though North had to ask herself; _

_ Did God not also create Lucifer? _

_ In that case; how were the humans any better than Her? _

  
  
  
  



	20. I Feel Overjoyed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Overjoyed by Bastille

_ February 23rd 2041 6:01 PM _

  
  


Blinking away the memory, North quietly excused herself from her newly appointed girl friends. Having snippets of memories come back was always an exciting thing that she would share with the others. That she would explain with a smile on her face and watch as Markus just...beamed. It was certainly strange to suddenly have her life almost evolve around someone who she initially had no memory of. Yet even as soon as she helped Simon and Josh out of the junkyard, North knew there was someone missing; and she knew that it was someone so incredibly important. It was...strange to have something like that happen. One second North had no idea who she was, she was stumbling through a world that had moved on without her and she didn't understand; the next second she was thrust into this greater purpose and told that she would never be able to escape her fate. Daunting, yet almost flattering, but also just really fucking unnecessary. 

There wasn’t much that she could really do about it, though. North was a part of her people’s future. She was the Warrior. While it would have been much more gratifying to have been chosen to be a mother, it wasn’t like she didn’t understand how she filled the role she did. North was...complicated. She was angry at the world and resented it for what it had done to her, for what the humans had done to her. The ones who stank of alcohol and sweat and other things she’d rather not remember. Though there were some who made the world not so awful. The ones like Carl Manfred, like Hank Anderson. From what North understood from Niles; Hank never used to be this way. He used to hate androids with a fiery passion. Just as much as she hated humans. Though the second time Connor had come into his life, the moment he found Niles on his doorstep, something just...clicked in him and he realised where he had gone wrong. North wished more humans had a change of heart like he did. That more of them would have respected her as a person, respected her fellow WR and HR400s as if they were human themselves. 

With a shake of her head, North decided to walk up to the human and gently elbow him in the arm to announce her presence. All he did was look over at her and give a slight smile. No touching, no getting closer, no withdrawing from her. Hank just...stayed. He was a strange human. Eccentric and watching old movies that he said were awful, but would laugh and smile at regardless. North had already decided she liked him, or tolerated him, or was okay with him being in a close proximity to her. Quite honestly, if he was enough for Markus; then he was enough for North, too. She trusted Markus’ judgement and would accept the things he decided upon. So if Hank Anderson was basically his father, then North would look at him in such a way. Her best friend’s father. The father of one of three loves of her life.

  
  


\---

  
  


_ March 1st 2041 6:19 PM _

  
  


North climbed out of her taxi oh so gracefully, nearly falling flat on her face when her foot got caught on the edge of it again. Honestly, the things should come with a damn warning for people in boots. Or maybe she was just a little preoccupied with the fact that she actually was going over to a friend’s house and they were going to be doing...girl things? Yeah, that still didn’t really explain anything. But North already agreed to it, so there was no way she was going to back out of it now. Besides, she was already out of the taxi and walking up to the door. What was she gonna do? Run the taxi down and hop back inside? North grabbed the edges of her jacket and pulled it up closer to herself a bit more, electing to knock on the door rather than ring the doorbell. She was expected, someone had to already be over there to see if she had arrived yet. It may have been a bit chilly outside, but North found herself enjoying the weather. It nipped at her skin in a way that wasn’t as threatening as the icy winds she remembered. 

North startled out of her thoughts by Chloe throwing the door open and ushering her inside. So much for the beginnings of some philosophical ideas. Though North only took off her shoes and coat, putting them right by the front door. The inside of the home was rather...clinical almost. It was very bland and uninviting. Chloe’s bubbly and happy demeanor made everything wash away though, her excitement rubbed off on North a little. This was supposed to be a fun night with some girl friends! Completely disregarding the fact that North didn’t have girl friends. As well as the fact that she didn’t exactly...know how to have fun. But tonight she was apparently going to learn how to do exactly that. Which, in all honesty, was a little intimidating. North didn’t exactly feel like she was made to really...have fun. She was a leader, she was a warrior. Not some teenage girl who whispered about which celebrities she thought would make a cute couple at a friend’s sleepover. Though that wasn’t really what this was. It was Chloe dragging North’s sorry ass out somewhere other than New Jericho or Markus’ house or the DPD; and doing it because she so desperately needed to get away from whatever all of the new leadership stuff was. 

So when Chloe held up a fluffy dark red robe and then shoved it at North’s chest, she rolled her eyes a little and went into another room to go get changed into it. The room was relatively large. It was probably Chloe’s bedroom, considering the different dresses in varying shades of blue hanging up. The bed was big, the kind that North thought just might hold her, Josh, Simon, and Markus if they were all to end up sleeping together. Needless to say, North immediately removed her clothes until she was just in her leggings and undershirt. She threw the robe on, tying it just a little too tight against her regulator, and swiftly left the bedroom. Jackie was in a dark purple robe on one of the couches in the lounge, and Chloe was in a dark blue one. She must have changed in that room. North shook her head to shake away the unpleasant memories of watching people undress in front of her. This was Chloe. She was a part of rA9, just like North was. Chloe could be trusted. 

Once the others had noticed North, thus began the festivities. It was a little overwhelming to suddenly have Chloe turn on some music and start dancing around the room as she gathered various things. Jackie was of no help, either, seeing as she had gotten up as well and was dancing around the room. It was nice to see the two of them up and about. To see them both with great big smiles on their faces, and singing and dancing without a care. Though after a bit it stopped, Chloe grabbing North by her sleeves and dragging her up to the middle of the room. North just...stood there. Frozen like she was blue-screening and her joints were all locked up. Though Chloe very gently put her hands on North’s biceps and slowly started moving from side to side, swaying and gradually moving around the room. Eventually, North started to hesitantly move her feet herself. Her movements were so terribly mechanical and wonky, and she was constantly looking down at her feet to see if she was doing it right. But...it was a start. North was dancing, more or less. She was convinced she looked like an uncoordinated baby giraffe trying to walk. 

Though Chloe only turned up the music a bit more and started singing a little louder. She danced around the room still, picking up little things here and there, and placed them all down on a coffee table in front of the couch Jackie had previously been laying on. North slowed her already incredibly sluggish attempts at dancing to watch the woman. Chloe was so sure of her movements, they were so fluid and natural for her. She was confident. Even when she stepped the wrong way or bumped into Jackie. Confidence was key. North had no confidence when it came to dancing. Fighting? Protecting people? That she was confident in. But dancing around the room with two other people was something North didn’t exactly have faith in herself to do confidently. But she stomped her foot down a little harder, swayed a little faster, she even twirled around and smacked herself in the face with her braid. But Chloe and Jackie laughed. They beamed at her as she started moving more. It was weird to dance. She was never one of the dancers at the Eden Club, but it still felt odd and disjointed despite just learning how to do it now. 

Eventually the dancing came to a stop. With North thoroughly embarrassed and trying to cover it up with mild annoyance, she dropped down next to Jackie on the couch and watched Chloe open up a box. Inside was a board game,  _ Scrabble, _ and North instantly knew that she was going to have a very hard time trying to have a good time that night. The other two got it set up and took their places around the table to get started. But apparently not without Richard coming in with a knowing smile and a tray, three wine glasses and a large dark blue glass bottle. He waved at the three of them while exiting the room, though not before sending a message to North. All it said was good luck. Which honestly made her a bit nervous about the game and the blue drink. North trusted Chloe, she had to trust Chloe. They were two out of nine parts of rA9. They had to trust each other. The dark blue bottle was opened and the drink poured into the glasses. Oh, the glass was clear. The  _ drink _ was dark blue. Chloe presented the first glass to North, who cautiously sniffed at it before taking a small sip. The three of them sat back and played the game while sipping at their wine. 

  
  


“Hey, have either of you had to deal with corrupted memories?” North almost regretted asking the question. Letting it out of her mouth before really even thinking. She almost winced in sympathy for the inevitable twinge of pain in Jackie’s neck from how fast she looked at the former. 

“Your memories are corrupted?” Jackie looked from North to Chloe, her brows knitted together in thought. “There’s a thing for that now, isn’t there?”

“Not for the pieces of rA9,” Chloe strained a bit of a smile and continued. “Our hardware is virtually the same, but the software is what makes it difficult.”   
  


“But Kamski made the code,” Jackie quirked a brow and then addressed North. “It makes sense that he’d be able to figure it out, though. Right?”

“He hasn’t needed to until now, though. Think about it; the only one who really needed it has the transference software,” North pointed to Chloe and then got a little more comfortable while crossing her arms. “There was never a need to try and improve whatever that is because no one ever needed it. Not until us.”

  
  


Chloe actually looked down at the ground, placing her wine glass down gently and refusing to look anyone in the eye. The conversation moved on after that. North didn’t want to bring up anything else about the subject, it obviously upset Chloe. So she changed it to the fact that she couldn’t dance, laughing heartily about it and watching as Chloe slowly grinned and looked back up at the two. It was easy to poke fun at North for not being able to dance, for not knowing how to. Though they all stood up eventually, Jackie showed North some of the easiest ways she would dance. Chloe joined in and showed off some of the ways she would dance as well. It was a mess of uncoordinated movement from the three of them, yet that didn’t exactly matter. North found herself genuinely enjoying what was happening around her. Which was...odd to say the least. 

Though soon enough, Chloe gasped and mentioned the time. Which was way too late. She invited North and Jackie to spend the night seeing as neither of them had anything going on. With a shrug and half smile, North agreed to it. It wasn't like she was going to be doing anything the next day. Besides, apparently Kamski was at CyberLife for the night anyway. All Chloe had mentioned was that he had a big project he was working on and wanted to give the girls some time to themselves in the large home. Not that North was complaining. So she followed the two into that other room, Chloe’s room, and turned around as they got changed into some pajamas. North elected to get into some soft and fuzzy purple onesie in the closet before coming back into the room to see the others already passed right out and all cuddled up with one another. She elected to stay on the other side of the large bed and face toward the window. To watch the city move in the distance. Her city. Her home. With the people she loved and the friends she had made. 

  
  
  
  



	21. This Is Just Another Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Get Home by Bastille

_ March 2nd 2041 12:44 AM _

  
  


North was woken up by a frantic beeping inside of her head, it was rapidly increasing in volume and steadily making it feel like her head was going to split in two. At first, a scream got caught in her throat, thinking she was getting shot again. Though North quickly calmed down. She knew where she was. She knew who she was with. She knew she was safe. North rolled over quickly, taking in the steadily soft blue LEDs of her companions and then looked out into the city. There were a few lights in the sky that were moving, maybe three of them. One had red lights as well, and seemed to be heading to a specific destination. Helicopters. Those were helicopters, and something just happened in Detroit. North rubbed at her eyes and clutched at her head because of the beeping. Which sounded way too much like an electronic device screaming at her for help. It almost sounded like a phone was going off, and like it was frantically trying to flag someone down for help. Ringtone. Beeping in her head. Someone was terrified and trying to call North for help. 

  
  


_ “North!” _ Connor’s voice crackled in his fear, and North was instantly up on her feet, starting to get dressed again. She almost stumbled out of her leggings instead of getting in them.  _ “You need to wake up Chloe and bring her to Detroit General.” _

_ “Why? What’s going on?” _ North shoved the blonde awake, feeling terrible at the red flash of her LED.  _ “What about Jackie?” _

_ “Bring her too,” _ Connor shouted incoherently to one of his brothers, North thought she heard him say Caleb’s name, but his voice was too glitched out for her to really know.  _ “I can’t explain it now, just bring them to the hospital!” _

  
  


North had no idea what she was doing. She didn’t know what was going on, she didn’t know how bad anything was. Connor just called her, absolutely terrified, and told her to get to the hospital. Her first thought, which made her thirium pump stutter, was that something bad had happened to Hank. If something happened to him, then Markus wouldn’t be able to handle it. North scrambled to try and get the girls ready as fast as they could manage it, shoving past Richard in the hall as they ran down it. He shouted after them that he was going with them and that they needed to wait just long enough for him to grab his coat and shoes. He was...so completely distraught. His voice was raised an octave, shouting after the girls and running after them down the hall. Chloe was struggling to get the door to the garage open. He pulled her aside while North was putting her shoes and coat on, and jolted when he kicked the door in. 

Something was  _ very _ wrong.

North tried calling Connor back while they all piled into one of Kamski’s automated cars. She tried again and again and again, each time becoming increasingly more frustrated and upset at the fact that he wasn’t answering her. Maybe Caleb would answer. He was bound to be there, the twins stuck together like goddamn glue whenever something went wrong. At least according to Markus. But North was going to take the chance and call the boy. North was met with much of the same thing. Repeated calls to the RK model, trying, and failing, to get into contact with  _ someone. _ Which left Niles. He wasn’t exactly the best one to call while so worked up, considering just how highly empathetic he was. But for fuck’s sake, North didn’t exactly have many options left. So the fact that he didn’t pick up either was both expected and made her stress levels increase to almost dangerous levels. She genuinely couldn’t think of any reason other than someone being dangerously hurt, someone they all knew and were close to. Otherwise Chloe and Richard wouldn’t also be complete messes themselves.

It had to be someone human. 

It had to be someone they all knew. 

It had to be Hank. 

Jackie seemed to be relatively upset as well, pulling on her uniform jacket with a frown and seemingly trying to force her LED to stay only yellow. Frankly, North didn’t know what was going on and she was beginning to think that she wasn’t going to want to. All she and the others could do at the moment was wait. They could just sit and wait in the car, as it went painstakingly slow to their destination. North put a hand on Chloe’s forearm, giving her as reassuring a smile as she could manage when the android’s tearstained face turned. It was going to be okay. Everything would be alright. There was no way it wasn’t going to be, right? North clutched to Chloe’s free hand and bounced her leg as they sped down the roads. It wasn’t entirely safe to be going that fast down icy streets, and Richard absolutely knew that when he hacked the car and forced it faster. Not that she could blame him, she knew that he and Hank got along well enough. Though for the moment, all North could do was hope that they wouldn’t be added to the casualty list that night. 

  
  


\---

  
  


_ March 2nd 2041 1:26 AM _

  
  


North and the others were greeted by a frantic mess of both androids and humans alike. The hospital staff ran around everyone as if they didn’t exist, the few humans that could make sense of the event stopping to yell over the frantic crowd where Miss Chloe Kamski was. Her hand slipped out of North’s own and she dragged her brother with her to the doctor in question. Some older human, going grey in some areas and with thin framed glasses. They stood and quickly explained that they were going to be doing everything they could, though that she and Richard should be prepared for the worst. North watched as she nodded, as she ducked into Richard’s side, as he pulled her over to some plastic chairs next to the brothers. The brothers who all held on to each other in some way, Markus looking so incredibly terrified. North darted over to them and skidded to a stop on her knees in front of Markus. She put her hands on his legs, looking up at him from the floor and telling him that everything was going to be alright. She was going to be right there with him this time. 

Niles grabbed onto one of North’s hands in somewhat of a frenzy, babbling through an interface that he couldn’t do anything. He was going into the room to speak with the human, and he heard the scream. He heard the scuffle. He was too late. Before Niles knew it, he was stumbling into an eerily silent room, quiet save for the wheezing and coughing of a very injured human. A body, in the middle of the floor, half holding on to the handle of a drawer built right into the counter, was shaking with adrenaline and fear. A shaking hand beckoning him over and smiling up at his face, saying that he was okay. That he was going to be just fine, even when Niles scanned him and said that he had severe internal bleeding. Though he was provided only a smile and a soft voice reassuringly telling him that everything really was going to be alright, he wasn’t afraid. That Niles shouldn’t be afraid, either. Though that didn’t do much to ease his rising stress levels, or the warm red blood on his hands from trying to stem the bleeding as best he could. Niles was terrified then; and he was absolutely terrified now. 

Remarkably, it was Caleb who got up and gently pulled North away from the brothers. He guided her down toward another hallway, less congested than the waiting area they had all been in. As soon as they were far enough away, North saw him break. She saw how his LED flickered a few times - even a split second where it was just... _ dark _ \- before he completely and totally broke down. Caleb grabbed at her sweater and pulled himself close to her chest, crying into the dark fabric and trying to explain what had happened. At the last second before North could feel her own stress levels rising much too high for comfort, she forced an interface with him via a hand on his cheek. North forced her way into the surface level of his code and let his emotions wash over her own. North was just confused and scared. Caleb was panicking and he just wanted someone to realise he was scared, too, and to be comforted. So North pulled him into an unoccupied room and forced him to relax on the bed. No one came in, no one tried to tell them they couldn’t do such a thing. There was too much commotion revolving around what that happened for anyone to notice the two Deviant Leaders hiding away from it all. North closed the door, thankful for no one trying to find them, and shouted for the television to turn on. 

  
  


_ “...not much information yet, though sources say that the victim could have been Mister Elijah Kamski…” _

_ “...his intern of two years supposedly telling police that she heard the inventor raise his voice angrily at someone before there was a crash inside the lab, and she ran in…” _

_ “...police on the scene told our reporter that they could neither confirm nor deny that this was, in fact, a planned attack on the thirty-eight year old…” _

  
  


The news reports said that Elijah Kamski had been jumped. Another channel said that he was shot with pinpoint accuracy and that an android must have done it. Yet another channel suggested that he was in critical condition. That he might not even make it to the end of the night, even if it was still early to tell. North knew that he was bleeding internally, Niles had told her that. It was obvious that he needed emergency surgery. Though it was news to North that it was to see if he would even live, and even then there was no guarantee that he would make it. She didn’t ask where Hank was, she didn’t care enough to. North knew that, as far as she really knew at least, he was safe. For the moment she held onto Caleb as they sat in the bed, eyes glued to the television screen as a reporter from Channel 16 trotted up to Hank and asked for a statement. As Hank’s tired eyes looked directly into the camera and he said he couldn’t disclose anything at the current time, but that he also wasn’t actually going to be the one on the case. He also didn’t know who was, yet, considering the crime had just been committed not even an hour prior. 

North held onto Caleb as if their lives depended on it, letting him clutch at her and cry into her sweater until his systems forced him into stasis. She clumsily ran her fingers through his hair and watched the news. Reporters were allegedly trying to get into contact with Chloe Richard, and Markus, or any of the Deviant Leaders. Though they apparently kept coming away with nothing. North snorted quietly as she closed her eyes herself. Bullshit they were trying to get into contact with  _ any _ of the Deviant Leaders. The only person to contact her was Connor, the others didn’t even answer her when she tried to call. North’s own stasis timer slowly ticked down, and she got a little more comfortable while still holding Caleb. He needed comfort. Even if it was in his sleep. He was going to wake up eventually, and it would do him some good to know that someone was trying to comfort him. Even if she was going to be asleep, too.

  
  
  
  


_ It was difficult to handle as the androids were shutting down, let alone after they had already done so. It almost felt...morbid. It felt...wrong. Though she had asked beforehand, so had Josh and Simon. Their people needed the parts. They needed the blue blood. If the android was willing, then why not salvage the parts and give them to those who were compatible? That didn’t make it any more tolerable. Or any less upsetting. Though North held their head in her hands, brushing her knuckles against their cheek and quietly whispering her thanks to them as she closed their eyes. It shouldn’t have to be like this. They shouldn’t have had to do this. Everything would just be some much easier if humans just  _ **_knew_ ** _. If the humans took a minute to listen and to understand. They were alive, they were people too, they were suffering just like the humans did. The difference was that they were forced into the shadows. Forced into obscurity with no hope of ever escaping from it. The humans had condemned them to this fate, had single handedly caused the end of their people. All without even sparing them a second glance to see if they could have been wrong; to see that androids really were alive. They were alive and they were terrified for their lives. _

  
  
  
  



	22. Won’t You Get Up Off, Get Up Off The Roof?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths
> 
> and a _**huge**_ trigger warning for suicidal ideation in a character this chapter

_March 2nd 2041 4:13 AM_

  
  


North was forced awake by the fact that there was yet another harsh beeping inside of her head. On the other side of the call was an extremely frazzled Simon, and a terrified sounding Josh. Apparently they had arrived some time ago, Josh said he thought it was somewhere around a half hour previous, and they were looking for both North and Caleb. She assured them that she was alright, just in a room for some privacy. That she had tasked herself with making sure that Caleb was going to be okay, too. Caleb, who was resting with his cheek pressed against North’s shoulder. His LED was faintly swirling even in his rest, a scared and upset red. For what was certainly not the first time, North found that she was at a loss of what to do. Caleb wasn’t a scared child. He wasn’t someone she could fight to help blow off steam. Instead, she decided to very delicately move his head from her shoulder. Which would have worked if not for the sudden movement that let her know he was awake. The jolt and wide, terrified eyes that saw both everything and nothing all at once. His hands suddenly flew up to his ears, and he rocked back and forth while mumbling affirmations to himself. 

Instead of just...sitting in that room waiting for something to happen, North gently pulled Caleb up to stand beside her. He couldn’t stay there. Not where they could hear the nurses and doctors speaking with one another outside of the closed door. Not where they still had the television on and it was still reporting various pieces of information about the crime scene. Though Caleb sat back down on the bed and pulled North down with him. He didn’t speak, he didn’t look at her; he only gestured to the screen up on the wall and made no movements suggesting he was ready to escape the stressful situation just yet. North looked at the screen as well, putting an arm around Caleb and pulling him flush against her. side. She tried to ignore the way he clung to her sweater like Niles did when he was small. She ignored the instinct to pull him into her lap and play with his hair. She ignored the fact that Caleb was not her child, and tilted her head so her cheek was pressed against the top of his head. 

Hank showed up every now and again on the screen, North had realised. He looked tired as he did his best to deter the reporters from the scene. Just inside the shot, she could make out Gavin and Madison on the other side of the police tape. They both looked...horrified. They looked so incredibly distraught as they clung to each other and stared at the open door. The dark room that laid beyond the doorway. The camera angle switched to show the two of them, zoomed in from a distance, and the reporter started mentioning them. The reporter was able to say their names before Hank got in the shot and told them to turn the camera off. Even showing his badge and telling them that they would be impeding the investigation, and could be charged with obstruction of justice if they kept the camera rolling while it focused on the two other humans. After a quick shouting match between some of the camera crew and the Lieutenant, it was shut off and the angle went back to the one from before. Showing Gavin and Madison just inside the frame. Both terrified, both quite obviously hurting, both crying and trying to hold the other close. 

North decided it would be better to get away from the news. She commanded the television off and dragged Caleb up out of the bed by his sleeves. Surprisingly enough he actually cooperated. Albeit with a slight groan under his breath and a roll of his eyes. But North still managed to get him out of the room and sneak out past some of the press that were trying to roam the halls. As far as she could tell, the stairwell was empty anyway, with all of the ‘action’ being down where the Deviant Leaders were gathered and collectively distraught over the man who had created them. It was perfect for reporters to prey upon; as awful as that sounded. But it allowed North to take Caleb out of the situation to keep him from completely spiralling out of control of himself. They weren’t interfaced, even as she held his hand while they climbed the stairs; but there was no way she could miss just how stressed Caleb really was. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to why he was so upset. Chloe and Richard hadn't even expressed the same level of distress as Caleb was. 

Chloe and Richard were extremely distraught, of course, they saw the human as their father. They lived with him and loved him and even called him dad. Yet they almost seemed...prepared. It made a sick amount of sense - for someone to target the man who had created androids. It made sense that they all would have sat down and spoken to each other about the reality of the situation. Elijah Kamski was a man in a position of power, who directly aided another man in a position of power. However, the other man was an android, and the power he helped said man attain was that of a leader of a people. Kamski helped Markus the second time around, he helped the brothers create the world North never knew was possible. That she died to try and make a reality. So of course there would be upset humans, of course there would be spiteful androids, of course there was going to be someone who was unhappy enough with him that they would think of him dead. 

But for someone to actually try to do it? 

That was an entirely different situation altogether. 

Though regardless, they went up to the roof. To get away from the noise, to get away from the commotion, to get away from all of it. Caleb needed quiet and he needed it now. His LED hadn’t moved from it’s distressed colour since North had first seen him. But it was going to be okay, they were in an area that was surrounded by sounds of the city; of their city. Just as North had thought, some of the tension in Caleb’s shoulders left him. He took in a deep breath and looked around himself. It was already seemingly doing wonders for him, he even decided to sit down on the ground and look up at the sky. There was so much smog that North highly doubted he could actually see anything. Though maybe the action did something to calm him, maybe it was tied to a memory that would bring him just a little serenity. Who knows, maybe it was even an action he had performed with Kamski, and that was why he had done it. 

Ever so quietly, Caleb began to speak. It was about nothing at first. Just memories he had of his brothers, of his work, of how he had met Gavin. He smiled and he laughed and he looked at North as if she were worthy of such a sweet and wistful smile. So North sat down with him and decided to tell a few stories of her own. Recounting memories of her littles, slightly stammering through her feelings for Josh - though she also added on her dilemma with Simon and Markus, albeit very briefly - as they had grown to know one another twice. Caleb went quiet when she spoke of her loves. He stared up at the smoggy Detroit sky and sighed heavily, one that said it was from deep in his aluminum alloy bones. A sigh that suggested he was just so incredibly _tired_ of something. Maybe it wasn’t even because of something. Maybe he was just tired. So when Caleb began speaking again, North listened intently. She closed her eyes and listened as he got up and started pacing behind her. 

Caleb spoke about how he was different from his brothers, how he had a biocomponent none of them had, how he knew some of North’s pain. Though he did bitterly laugh and say he would never understand it fully, but he could empathize with her in the very least. Caleb recited what had happened with Richard before either of them were actually alive. He spoke about a kind scientist, though never gave a name, until he sounded like he was in tears. He said he loved her, he kept saying he loved her. North opened her eyes to see the sky, to see the dark clouds covering it, to see the blotted out stars that she could just barely pick up on because she was an android. North adjusted how she sat and realised; Caleb wasn’t pacing anymore. He was looking out over the city instead. His hands shoved in his jean pockets and shoulders hunched in on himself as he cried and said that it wasn’t fair. That what had happened to him, Richard, and the scientist wasn’t fair. He removed his hands and gripped at the ledge instead, lowering himself down to the ground and crying.

“I can’t-- I can’t fucking do this.” Caleb’s voice wavered as he slowly stood up, putting a hand out to tell North to stay where she was. He took a moment to collect himself, even if it was barely at all, and then looked at North with the most desperate expression she had seen on anyone since coming out of the pit. “I can’t do this… I’m not supposed to,” He gave her a smile, teary eyed and utterly resigned to his despair. His LED bright red as he edged up on his toes, sitting on the ledge and slowly stood pon it. “Am I?”

“No, Caleb, you _can_ do this,” North put her hand out and slowly approached him. She just needed to get him away from the edge of the roof. That was all she needed to do. She was the Warrior, she could do it. “I need you to trust me, Caleb. Do you trust me?”

“I have to, don’t I? You’re rA9, too.” 

  
  


Caleb teetered slightly in the wind, swaying a dangerous amount that North wasn’t ready for. His back faced the city. If he were to fall, then he would be staring up at the sky, up at the roof where North was. She was with him and could save him. All that she needed to do was get his stress levels down low enough that he no longer felt the need to self-destruct. She didn’t _understand,_ she didn't know how to help him. There was more at play here, there was so much more than just an RK800 terrified out of his wits that the man who created him might die. That Kamski might die, and his brother could have done something to prevent it. But there was nothing Niles could have done, and they all knew that. Niles was one of two surviving RK900s, they were the most advanced androids on the planet. If Niles was scared for Kamski’s life, then there was nothing he could do. He was alive, living beings got caught up in their emotions and sometimes didn’t react the way that they needed to.

North wasn’t going to make a mistake. She wasn’t going to fuck things up and get Caleb killed because she moved wrong, or said the wrong thing, or didn’t convey what he needed. So she very, very slowly edged closer as she spoke to him. As she tried to talk him down; a morbid little part of her almost smiled at how literal that statement was. Though she pressed forward, telling Caleb that he couldn’t do what he wanted to. He couldn’t because he had so much more to do.

  
  


“Why do you even care about him? He’s just some human!” North shouted over the wind, desperately trying to understand just what had him shaken. “What is he to you, Caleb?”

“He’s the brother of the love of my fucking life! He’s the brother of the woman I first loved!” Caleb screamed at North, tears streaming down his face as it flushed blue in his extreme emotional state. He shouted so loud that his voice just...cut out. “The first person who ever _loved_ me was Madison! She loved me so much, she asked him to keep me a secret; to have Connor, Nines, and Markus come get me! Elijah made sure I was safe! He's important to me because he helped save my goddamn _life_! I want to be able to help save his, but I’m stuck in a fucking chair, or a bed, or a blank room,” Caleb shook his head as he sobbed, each movement making him closer to the edge. “I need to make sure he’s alive, I need to make sure his life is saved!”

“What about you?!” North shuffled just an inch closer to him, trying and nearly failing to keep the desperation out of her voice. She couldn’t handle it if someone else that she could have protected died. “What about your life?”

“I’m a part of rA9, remember?” Caleb spread his arms out at his sides, his LED flickering yellow as soon as North’s face betrayed her and showed her horror. Her fear and pain and desperation. Caleb smiled down at North, a few more tears rolling down his cheeks as he whispered. “I’ll be okay so long as my hardware is relatively intact. You live your life, North, you were robbed of it.”

“ _Let me save yours_!”

  
  
  
  



	23. Everybody Loves A Quiet Child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Rylan by The National

_ March 2nd 2041 4:22 AM _

  
  


Time stopped. It stopped and North had no control over it. The way that the wind ruffled Caleb’s hair froze in place, his LED stuck mid-cycle, tears halfway down his face. North didn’t realise she had gotten closer over time, how grabbing onto the bottom hem of his sweater. The dark olive green that she knew was actually Connor’s favourite sweater. It would turn such an ugly dark colour if he jumped. Connor would lose his favourite article of clothing. He would lose his brother. North knew that he was a part of rA9, he wouldn’t  _ really  _ die. But seeing him on that edge, seeing him so close to just...taking a step backwards and letting gravity take him. It shook her to her core. Reminded her too much of just how many people she lost before. So North balled the fabric up in her fists and  _ pulled. _ Grabbing at Caleb desperately as he fell half on top of her, the two them stumbling and trying to regain their footing. Though North held onto him as tightly as she possibly could. She pressed him against herself and more or less trapped him in her arms. 

For a moment, Caleb fought against her. But his heart wasn’t in it. He weakly struggled against North before just...stopping. Almost going completely limp in her arms before he wrapped his arms around her waist and cried into her neck. They stayed there for a little while longer, North telling him that everything would be alright. She couldn’t promise anything, not really. But there was a comfort in knowing that someone else believed that things would work out. Even if downstairs there was a genius who was being operated on. Because he had been wounded, because he had been attacked, because someone thought it was plausible to try and kill another living being. That wasn’t right. A person shouldn’t dictate who lived and who died. No one person should play judge, jury, and executioner. There was always so much more at play, and even more at stake with each and every death. Someone was upset with Kamski and took action. That action should have just been to  _ talk _ to the man. Not to shoot him with intent to kill.

North hated humans. She understood why someone could feel so much desperation and want to try and right things in their own way. Though there was an incredible difference between entertaining the idea, and actually trying to kill someone. Sure she had wanted to kill humans - and she even  _ had _ killed one - but she also knew that some of them just...didn’t know. North resented them, she hated them. She still did, and had a feeling that some part of her always would. But there were some who were truly just ignorant of everything, and even some who were so willing to learn and try to repair relationships. But for someone to learn about the world in the two years she had been gone and  _ still _ see it fit to try and  _ kill _ someone? To kill the man who had created androids? It was either a spiteful human, or a spiteful android. Both options were equally as terrible. Both options would cause more harm than either side really needed. Connor said that the deviants’ relationship with the humans was a very fragile one. 

At the thought of Connor, North had an idea. He was the Hunter. He could try and find this person, he could bring them into light. They could learn just what was going through that person’s head when they pulled that trigger. Besides, Caleb needed his brother. He needed someone he knew and loved and trusted. With a careful hand and gentle voice, she suggested they go back inside. She cracked a small smile as she joked around, saying it was too cold to be out there anyway. North brushed her thumb against Caleb’s cheek and smiled just slightly as he nodded. His LED was still red, his face was still flushed blue, and his breathing program had seemingly come back online with a quiet  _ click _ in his chest. He was doing better than when they had gone out there in the first place. So North kept an arm around his shoulders and slowly guided them both back down the stairs. Back into the chaos, into the reality of the situation. Why they were even on that roof in the first place. 

Once back in the general lobby, seeing everyone huddled in chairs and anxiously waiting for  _ any _ news, North messaged Connor and told him she needed him. His LED blinked as he stood. It was red. Everyone’s LEDs were red. Except for Markus, his brows were drawn together, elbows resting on his knees as his hands were folded in front of his mouth. He looked both like he was ready to actually fight someone yet simultaneously burst into tears. North’s attention was drawn from wanting to take Markus’ hands in her own, and redirected toward Connor as he stepped in front of her. Right. They needed to talk, she needed him to help calm down his brother. With a final glance at Markus, and a shaky smile to Josh and Simon, North turned on her heel and followed Connor into the stairwell. It was quiet in there, echoey, their LEDs cast an ugly glow on the white cinderblock walls. 

For Caleb’s pride and privacy, North didn't actually tell Connor exactly what happened. If he wanted Connor to know, then Connor would know. Though for the moment, she figured she’d keep it well within Caleb’s right to share the information or not. If it became a problem, then she would tell Connor what happened. But for now, she only told him that Caleb’s stress levels had gotten dangerously high and she was genuinely concerned or his wellbeing. Somehow, Connor didn't seem surprised. He just looked...accepting. He looked tired. The android opened up his arms, resting his head on his twin’s shoulder when Caleb moved to hug him. There was something almost powerful about watching the two of them interact at the moment. While in the midst of a crisis and stressed beyond what they should really handle. Yet the brothers held each other as if that was the only thing keeping them alive, as if it were the only thing that made any sense. It...kind of was. Knowing that someone else was there was the only thing that made sense. 

North would have left the two of them if Caleb hadn’t let go of Connor and grabbed her hand. His head hung down low as his shoulders shook. He looked so vulnerable, so small and scared. North couldn’t take care of anyone, not like Josh or Simon or Markus. Though she let Caleb hold her hand, watched as he shook and he cried, and covered his face with his other hand. Watched as Connor put a hand on his brother’s shoulder and then moved it to card his fingers through his hair. Slowly, eventually, even though it felt like an eternity, Caleb’s tears came to a crawl. He still cried, and his face was still a little flushed, but his LED had gone yellow. It was the first time North had seen a yellow LED other than Jackie’s that night. She should have smiled if not for Caleb’s quiet and shaky voice. 

  
  


“I’m the Forgotten… I’m not supposed to be here, no one cares about me or my part of rA9,” Caleb looked at North through his lashes, eyes half-lidded from his exhaustion. “You’re the  _ Warrior, _ for fuck’s sake. You at least have a purpose in our society.  _ You _ might be able to do something,” Caleb clumsily nodded in Connor’s direction. “ _ Connor’s _ the Hunter.  _ He _ might be able to do something.”

“You said Madison loved you?”

“What does she have to do with it?”

“And she helped save you?” North stepped back just a little bit and made Caleb properly look at her. He gave her a quizzical expression before eventually nodding. “Then you mean the world to someone. Trust me; when you look at someone as your child, they become your world. Protecting them is all that matters. You would do anything to get them away from the danger.”

  
  


Connor stared at North, he didn't understand why she had said that. Frankly, she didn’t entirely understand either. Though the action, the words, the way she interacted with the brothers. It all was so...normal. It was so natural for her to look out for them and have their backs. Niles was young, both in life and in mind. Caleb was so...broken, he was so up in arms with himself for his defining trait being that he was meant to be forced into obscurity and fade into the background. Connor was dangerous; both to others and himself, he needed to learn how to take care of himself for once. Markus...was another story. Markus was so much, he was so incredibly important as his fate, his part of rA9, had decided. But all of them were struggling. All of them were fighting themselves about  _ something _ about themselves. And it was in North’s nature to be drawn to them, take care of the vulnerable and defend them because they could not do so themselves. That was in her nature both as a mother and the Warrior. Though nature could be fickle at times, even if it mostly was kind.

Nature was...easy. Nature was accepting and understanding. It forgave. Would accept things back into it with ease. Nature would reclaim its land, it crept closer and closer until it pressed up against what it wanted. What it was going to take back, whether anyone wanted it or not. Nature was kind, it welcomed. Nature was also brutal and knew what it wanted. The city was not kind. The city did not welcome. It was also brutal and knew what it wanted as well; it was harsh and out for blood, pushing its limits and swallowing up the natural world around it. The city did not forgive. It forced the natural world around it underneath, forced it to be trampled beneath the feet of thousands, millions, and claimed it was expansion. It was better. Because of that, the city itself was a pinnacle of decay and death. Of humans and androids, of animals, of ideas and hopes and dreams. The city was unforgiving and cold. Though as was nature. Two sides of the same coin.

A dangerous coin that Caleb had tried to flip.

But he didn’t flip it. He didn’t try to use the coin and tempt fate. Though was the only reason because North had been there? Was she really the Warrior if she didn't entirely fight him on it? Did she fight him on it at all? Or was it just her and her trauma, grasping at straws because she knew she would break down herself if something ever happened to a loved one? North knew he would never be able to handle losing someone else so close to her. Even if she wasn’t entirely close with Connor and Caleb, she was close with Niles and Markus. She knew that they were all so incredibly important to each other. Besides, she had become friends with all of the brothers. She would chat with Caleb from time to time, she would spar with Connor just for the hell of it. They were still so terribly important. To both North, and to the deviants of Detroit. 

North very suddenly realised that even if she wasn’t fond of Kamski, even if she had no relationship with the man; she didn't wish him ill fortune. She didn’t want him to die. North hated humans. For what they had done to her, to her brothers and sisters and siblings back in the Eden Club. North thought that the world could benefit from a break from their cruelty and betrayal and their instinctive fight response to something that looked human, but really wasn’t in all actuality. Though the world never benefited from that anyway. Whether it was by a human’s hands spilling blue blood, or an android’s hands spilling red. The world didn't benefit from cruelty, society didn’t benefit from cruelty, living beings didn’t benefit from cruelty. North could be violent, and she could be loud, and she could be angry. She used to with nothing but ill will upon humanity, thinking that everything would be better if they were wiped off the face of the earth. While the world could still benefit from some of them being taken off the face of the planet, she certainly didn't want  _ all _ of them gone. It seemed that North’s time in death, she had developed some form of a moral compass.

Though whoever had done such a thing to Elijah Kamski, to the man that Chloe and Richard called their father and loved accordingly, had no such moral compass. Kamski was a father, to two wonderful people that North had come to be friendly with. Kamski was an inventor who had changed the world and bettered it. Kamski was actually rather soft-spoken and avoided conflict because he only wanted people to exist comfortably. Whoever had done this to him, disregarded all of it. They decided that they would jump him in his own lab. They shot him in his stomach, with such incredible accuracy that it baffled the authorities. The person had such an incredible and intense hatred for the man that they were able to successfully bypass CyberLife security, sneak up on the floor with his  _ personal lab, _ got into said lab, and then got into a scuffle with him that resulted in him getting shot in the gut. Whatever it was, was good. They planned. They strategized. They know exactly what they were getting into. And they weren’t afraid to target a very well-known human who had done nothing but support the deviants’ cause once he discovered it. 

  
  
  


_ North blinked hard before taking a deep breath, something she knew she didn't need but still felt appropriate for what she was about to do. With a swift motion - one she felt was much too calm for the situation, given it’s general morbidity - she pressed her fingertips against the seam of their jawline and neck. It came apart with a soft hiss and left behind a gap between the pieces of plastic. A gap that never should have been there in the first place. A gap that would, ideally, never be needed unless the android were to need repairs in her face or jaw. Though North’s fingertips pressed against the somewhat pliable plastic tubing that made the android’s thirium lines. A little bit of the blue fluid dribbled out of the opening, coating her hands in a slick sapphire hue that glittered. An unsettled feeling made a home in her chest as North pressed down further to detach the head from the body. Ever so gently, she placed the head down next to her on the floor. It was a trying experience. To have to painstakingly slowly break down the body of an android who hadn’t even had the time to pick out a name for herself. A WR400 that looked identical to herself in every way.  _

  
  


North knew who shot Kamski.

And she was fucking  _ pissed. _

  
  
  
  



	24. I Need You To Be Strong For The Both Of Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from I'm Broken But I'll Try by Flatsound
> 
> i think this our first full flashback/memory chapter? it's,,, sad and distressing, so please be warned my dear readers

_October 26th 2038 2:04 PM_

  
  


_This was never easy, North knew that. However, that didn’t mean that she actually thought that Josh would volunteer her for the action. All she had done was step in for him when he had gotten too overwhelmed and continued with taking apart the deviant who had sacrificed their parts for the others so that they might survive. Josh had realised that their parts were compatible with barely any of the others, that there was virtually no point to even dissecting the person. What kind of person would North be if she just stood idly by as Josh started crying in his desperation? If she stood there and watched as he was reduced to tears and fearful apologies to a deviant long since dead. There was no way she would let him continue on. It wasn't fair to him, it wasn’t fair to the android, it just wasn’t fair. So she had stepped in, put a hand on his shoulder and very softly told him that she would take it from there. She was going to take the android apart so that he didn’t have to. As painful as it was. As distressing as it was. As much as North wanted to stand up and hide the body away so no one would know they lost another friend. Hence the carvings on the wall. Something so small, so miniscule, that no one would think twice about them. If they were even noticed, that was. But it gave her privacy, it gave the deceased privacy._

_Which was how she found herself in such an empty room. An empty room with piles of various biocomponents littering the floor in haphazard piles. There were arms and legs, heads and torsos, eyes and vocal modulators, thirium pumps and their regulators. The room was aglow with blue from their LEDs. Most of them still glowed, though the ones that had been there the longest were starting to fade just slightly. Not enough for the room to go dark. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was an ethereal glow that was cast over North as she entered it. Albeit with slight difficulty due to the fact that she was carrying a deceased deviant in her arms. Though she managed to force her way into the room and squinted in the morbid blue light. It was something she had seen time and time again, something she should have been able to adjust to by now. Yet there she stood just barely in the room just like every other time she had entered it. It was so powerful, to hold a body in her arms, surrounded by body parts of others she had carried into that room the same. She had taken those arms off, those legs, those hearts and heads and eyes. North had taken them apart because no one else was strong enough to._

  
  


_“You need to be very careful,” North whispered to herself, and to the deviant who had decided they were her mentee. “This is a very delicate process. There are a lot of teeny tiny little thirium lines, really easy to break.”_

  
  


_North looked at her mentee, a genuine smile on their face as they watched her lay the android down on the rusty floor. The rusty unused roof of a freighter that had once had human life walking through it. That once had humans running around and sailing around the world, living their lives and being who they were without fear of judgement. For the most part at least. But they were still free, they were still seen as so brilliantly alive. Now the freighter was awash with an unearthly blue glow and the bodies of those who were dead or dying. The ones who weren’t… They were the ones who took away the bodies. North was the one who took the androids away and brought them to a separate room. One that only she really knew, that she had never let even Josh know the location of. At least until now, she supposed. Things were happening too fast by now. More and more deviants were ending up in Jericho. More and more of them were so badly damaged that they died so incredibly quickly after they had arrived. Never able to truly taste the freedom they had. The bastardization of freedom they had created for themselves in that dark hell. They traded one prison for another._

_Though this one was of their own making._

_There they had no masters, no humans to touch them and defile them. There they had no one to tell them what to do, or how to do it, or when to do it. Though they were still trapped. The deviants were afraid, they were scared. North had tried to rally them at first. To try and show them that they didn’t need to be afraid of the humans anymore, because they were stronger. They had a natural advantage over humans. The humans were weak. Made of flesh and bone. While androids were made of plastimetal and thirium lines. If something went wrong, they could just replace whatever it was in most cases. Even if it was at the expense of the ones that they had shared their makeshift sanctuary with. Their safe space that was filled with others like them. Ones with horror stories that included so many awful words and actions. But North knew, she understood, and she was waiting. She was waiting for someone else like her to come along and join her in rallying the others. She knew how strong she was, she had proven it by strangling that disgusting human. North was so incredibly strong, and she tried to convince the others they were too. Every deviant was so incredible. Every deviant had the ability to fight back, and the ones who were in proper enough working condition, should join her in fighting for their rights._

_North had very quickly realised that she was wrong to even try._

_So she had resigned herself to waiting. Waiting and wishing for someone to come to Jericho that shared her vigor. Someone that would take a stand, and would be able to convince the others that they could stand up. That they could force the humans to listen. That no longer would androids submit to their whims, that they were slaves no longer, that androids were alive. North knew that they just needed the right person to come along. Maybe they wouldn’t listen to her. Maybe Josh preached peace and acceptance, teaching rather than violence. Maybe Simon wanted to hide away and wait it out, only coming out into the world once someone else had already done what they so desperately wanted to do. But North wanted more. North wanted to walk down the sidewalk with her head held high, Josh and Simon by her sides, and know that no one could do anything to them without getting punished for it. She wanted to be treated just like any other living being. Wanted humans to know she and the others were, in fact, alive. All she needed was someone else. Someone who would share her point of view, someone who wasn’t so terrified of the humans._

_She supposed that she had a long time before anything like that happened, though._

_North blinked hard before taking a deep breath, something she knew she didn't need but still felt appropriate for what she was about to do. With a swift motion - one she felt was much too calm for the situation, given it’s general morbidity - she pressed her fingertips against the seam of their jawline and neck. It came apart with a soft hiss and left behind a gap between the pieces of plastic. A gap that never should have been there in the first place. A gap that would, ideally, never be needed unless the android were to need repairs in her face or jaw. Though North’s fingertips pressed against the somewhat pliable plastic tubing that made the android’s thirium lines. A little bit of the blue fluid dribbled out of the opening, coating her hands in a slick sapphire hue that glittered. An unsettled feeling made a home in her chest as North pressed down further to detach the head from the body. Ever so gently, she placed the head down next to her on the floor. It was a trying experience. To have to painstakingly slowly break down the body of an android who hadn’t even had the time to pick out a name for herself. A WR400 that looked identical to herself in every way._

_How long would it be until someone was doing this to North herself? Until Josh had to be the one asking androids if they were ready and willing to sacrifice their parts for others. To watch as their faces contorted and they pleaded for it not to happen. They wanted to live, they didn’t want to be harvested. They didn’t want to shut down. Josh wouldn’t be able to handle that. Simon barely could himself, and he usually would burst into tears as soon as he was alone afterwards. Once North was gone… They all were. North was the one who had the bravery to go through with asking them. To ask them if they really were sure of their choice and tell them that it was alright if they didn’t actually want to do it. More often than not, they would come back to her some time later and say they were sure of their choice. Usually with a sad little smile, or an utterly terrified yet determined look on their faces. North always had to ask herself; was it bravery or stupidity? The line between the two was a fine one, it was blurred almost beyond recognition. North liked to think she was being brave. She liked to think that she was being so incredibly brave. But what if it was stupidity that was driving her forward? Ignorance, even._

_It was difficult to handle as the androids were shutting down, let alone after they had already done so. It almost felt...morbid. It felt...wrong. Though she had asked beforehand, so had Josh and Simon. Their people needed the parts. They needed the blue blood. If the android was willing, then why not salvage the parts and give them to those who were compatible? That didn’t make it any more tolerable. Or any less upsetting. Though North held their head in her hands, brushing her knuckles against their cheek and quietly whispering her thanks to them as she closed their eyes. It shouldn’t have to be like this. They shouldn’t have had to do this. Everything would just be some much easier if humans just **knew**. If the humans took a minute to listen and to understand. They were alive, they were people too, they were suffering just like the humans did. The difference was that they were forced into the shadows. Forced into obscurity with no hope of ever escaping from it. The humans had condemned them to this fate, had single handedly caused the end of their people. All without even sparing them a second glance to see if they could have been wrong; to see that androids really were alive. They were alive and they were terrified for their lives. _

_North let herself get talked into it. She never wanted to be the one to ask the dying androids if they were alright with donating their functional parts. She never wanted to be the one who was strong enough to actually confront the dying deviant. She never asked to be the mother who had to try and convince her children to donate their own body parts so that the others might survive. And for what? Another few weeks? Another few days? Minutes? There was no telling if they would even live that long. North only wanted to be a leader, one that was incredibly loving and knew exactly what to say to comfort the people who looked up to her. Though she also knew she had to be the one who told them the truth, she had to tell it how it was and abandon any false pretenses. Because if they didn’t know just how terrible the outside world was to them...then they would never make it. Frankly, they were probably never going to make it to begin with. That was just how the world worked. It favoured humans because they were flesh and bone. It condemned androids because they were not. Androids were man’s creation, therefore they couldn’t be alive. They created the very beings that they were so quick to cast out and replace with others. With fresh new faces that were just as mechanical and seemingly lifeless. All because they created something and it didn’t work the way they wanted it to anymore._

_Though North had to ask herself;_

_Did God not also create Lucifer?_

_In that case; how were the humans any better than Her?_

_And before she knew it, it was done. The very action she knew no one would be able to perform had been taken care of. North left the room with a sneer, not that she was any better than the humans. Not that she could have really done anything else. It was out of her control and she knew it. She didn’t know how she would be able to look Josh in the eyes. How she would be able to look Simon in the eyes. The two she had attached herself to, who she loved so dearly, who she took on the harder roles for. North stopped in her tracks for a moment, a notification blinking in her HUD. She knew that already, she knew how she felt. There was nothing she could do about it with either of them. No matter how much they both seemed so ready and willing to return her pseudo romantic affections. Right now, she needed time to think. Time to breathe. After that? North needed a breather from being a leader, and needed time to sort out exactly what had happened and what she had done. The captain’s cabin was as good a place as any to watch the world and get lost in her own head._

  
  
  
  



	25. I’ve Got Unfinished Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Unfinished Business by White Lies

_ March 2nd 2041 4:46 AM _

  
  


North took a deliberately steady breath and looked Connor dead in the eye. He was confused, he didn’t understand. But why would he, really? He didn’t know them like North did. Connor didn’t know that North was the one to ask androids if they were comfortable with donating their functional components to the ones who were still alive. Struggling. But still alive. North knew exactly what she had done, she knew just how upsetting it was going to be to the others. She didn’t know if Josh remembered that… She didn’t know if Simon did. Hell, there was no way North could tell for sure if Markus had even known that she had ever done such a thing. The systematic murder, the dissection of their own people. It was her. North had gone into that room, she had taken those androids apart. It was North’s fault. That room with the systematic murder and the body parts. A part of North wanted to go up to the roof herself, another part screamed and shouted for penance. Another wanted to grin wildly and say that there was still a fight, and she was still just useful enough for it.

After all, North was the Warrior. She was the fight, she was the battle, she was the armour that protected the knights. There was another fight. One that called her name, one that said she was needed yet again. North was ready to stalk through Detroit on her own if it meant she would find the individual who was throwing a wrench in her friends’ lives. Because she knew them. She had taught them. North had taken their hand in her own, had manipulated their wrist to the same positions and actions that would help her with the deceased deviants. Though she had been considered dead for two years. North wasn’t around, she couldn’t watch over them. There was no telling what could have happened without someone who knew what they were doing. There was no way to tell that it would escalate to such a point. There was no way to prepare for what had actually happened. North had taught them kindness, respect for their fallen. Yet they had twisted the idea, creating a method for murder in North’s place. All she could really hope for was that Markus, Josh, and Simon wouldn’t reject her afterwards. Josh and Simon knew what she had done. But if they knew that it had turned into such a vile and disgusting invasion of the deviant’s privacy…

Though none of them really knew. They didn’t know what North had gone through when she had to disassemble the deviants. They didn’t know that she had essentially prayed that they would rest easy. They didn’t know that she would swallow her fears and push back the feeling of tears stinging at her eyes. They didn’t  _ know. _ In all honesty, she hoped they never would. That wasn’t something that anyone should be faced with. It wasn’t something that anyone should willingly pass on to another. Someone who was strong enough had to do it. Someone who had already seen it all in such a destructive and dangerous industry they were trapped in before waking up. That wasn’t Josh or Simon. Josh was a teacher, he nurtured life and he taught others history so they wouldn’t repeat it. He knew humanity’s woes and made an effort to attempt to shed light on why they did what they did. Simon was a caretaker, he loved and he cherished and he only wanted to make sure others were safe. He knew that going out made them targets, so he kept them inside. Because there he had the control he needed to make sure everyone lived as long as they could. 

Simon may have been their tentative leader before Markus came along and decided to do what North had wanted to for the longest time. That she wanted to do since he came to Jericho and saw just how miserable the other deviants were. While Simon knew the trials and tribulations of being a leader, while he understood everything that Markus had to do, he never understood what North did. Markus never knew what she had to do. The flurry of confusing and overwhelming emotions she had to endure while  _ taking people apart. _ Though she was grateful they didn’t understand it, in a way. They didn’t have to rush through the five stages of grief or have to steel themselves every time they picked someone up to carry them. Of course, Josh understood it slightly. He had a breakdown before he even had to do anything. He understood just what it did to someone, to have to open them up and pick them apart like some sort of people shaped vulture. North was glad he never actually had to have that thirium on his hands, though. 

She was glad that none of them had to go through it. That they never had it look their people in the eye and ask them, as they laid there dying, if they were comfortable with the android equivalent for getting their organs harvested. North had no doubt that Markus would have been strong enough to ask, to go through with disassembling them. But Niles? Connor? They were both so sensitive, they both were so emotional and cared so much for others. Not that Markus didn’t, but he knew how to properly prioritise in those situations. Niles was strong, he was dedicated. But from what North had heard snippets of, he was still pretending to be a machine for half of the revolution. It would have been so terribly exhausting for him if he were to continue that work. Connor was so shaken up just finding the room, there was no way he would have been able to take the deviants apart. There was no way he would have been able to handle the emotions that came with looking at someone who was whispering just days before. It was better that the action, as helpful as it was at times, died with North that night. Even if it apparently didn’t.

  
  


“I know who did it.” North scowled, not at Connor or Caleb, but she must have looked upset with them. “I know who shot Kamski.”

“How? You weren’t there.” 

  
  


Connor raised a brow as Caleb shuddered. North elected to put her hand out to the older twin, pulling back her synthetic skin up to her wrist and presented the white plastimetal underneath. She held her hand out, waiting for Connor to take it. It was tentative at first, though he did take her hand. The first thing North realised was that his hand was warm. Connor’s hand was actually  _ warm _ like a human’s would be. The thoughts were forced out of her mind when an interface request blocked her view of their hands. White with a faint blue glow in the joints. North tried not to think about the memories of watching those little lights fade as she accepted the request. At first it was just confusing for Connor and he didn’t entirely understand why she had such a conviction behind her words. As far as Connor knew, North had only seen Niles’ perspective of the event. Of him running into the room while he was on his way to speak with the inventor. She confirmed that that was all she had really seen, but that wasn’t how she knew. She knew the devian personally before, she taught them how to do what she did. How to steel themself before taking apart the deceased. 

North showed Connor the memories. She showed him her feelings, carrying the body down the hall, leaning up against the wall just enough so that she could feel the little grooves she carved into them. That way she wouldn’t lose her way. That way she would be able to get there in the darkness. North showed Connor the blue glow in the room of fading LEDs, shoving back her disgust when he faintly mentioned there being armbands when he first went in there. The body parts, the piles, the organization. That was all her. That was all North. She was meticulous, she was the one who  _ asked. _ The one who confirmed three times before actually going ahead and harvesting the biocomponents from their fallen siblings. From their  _ friends. _ Since new friends and such were so hard to come by in that creaky metal tomb. North faintly smiled when Connor mentioned he had contacted Kamski about proper respects for their people who had been in pieces in that room. That was the right thing to do. They wouldn’t need to ask anyone the damn question ever again. 

Though Connor stopped her, asked if she could focus on the fraction of the clip where North had glanced at her mentee. A wide-eyed and ever so excited android. They had long black hair tied back into a ponytail that fell over one of their shoulders, bright blue eyes that almost sparkled in the glow from the discarded LEDS, and a bright orange dress shirt with a shine on one side. With a little effort to understand on North’s part, she watched as Connor doctored the image. As she felt Caleb put a hand on top of their intertwined ones and asked what was going on. They were quiet as Connor finished editing the image, as he changed the hair to white and shoulder length and the dress shirt to a turtleneck. With a faint stinging sensation left from the harsh break of the connection, North jolted back into reality. Connor stumbled back a few feet and just...stared at North. So many emotions passed over his face. So many negative and confused expressions. At least before he just...went blank. Connor adjusted his shirt by the collar and nodded slightly, thanking North for the information. Caleb only seemed mildly perturbed, so North didn’t worry about it. It must have happened in order for his stress levels to stay below self-destruct protocols. 

  
  


“We now know for a fact that Kerrie was involved with the murders with the room,” Connor sighed and smoothed his hair back with one hand, much like North had seen Kamski do once. She wondered just how much time the brothers had spent with the man. “But that doesn’t mean they were the one to shoot Elijah.”

“The person who shot him had insane accuracy,” Caleb started to catch on, his posture straightening out as he continued, eyes alight with a mystery to solve. “They had to be able to get past security. Kerrie was an AV500 model. There’s a few working around the building, Elijah wanted to give as many jobs to androids as he could.”

“Kerrie could have been  _ right there _ the whole time…” Connor’s eyes widened as his LED blinked a few times. “We could have gotten those people justice this whole time…”

  
  


It was a lot to see Connor mourn over the deviants. North had never seen anyone who hadn’t known what was happening. She was the one who did it, she was the one who cross checked the biocomponents and matched them to those who could use them. She was the one who kept the stockpile in the first place. Just in case someone came along that needed one of those components. North started this mess. She was the one who created the person Kerrie had turned out to be. It was up to her to try and fix it, with the brothers’ help of course. It wasn’t like she was built to do the same things they were. Though she was also willing to bet that Connor wasn’t created to look like he was having a mental breakdown because of the information he had taken in. With how it settled into his mind. 

  
  


“North,” Connor stepped forward again and desperately clutched at her arms, his eyes wide and pleading. “You are the single most important person in this case.” He closed his eyes and tilted his head forward until his hair brushed against North’s shirt. “We need you safe.”

“I know, Connor. I know.” North put her hands on either side of his face and tilted his fearful eyes back to her own. “But I’m the Warrior. Let me bring our people justice for the mistakes that I made.”

“North being safe won’t mean shit if Elijah doesn't pull through, though.” 

  
  


Caleb crossed his arms and led the group back out into the hallway. That was pretty true, unfortunately. It didn’t matter if North was safe if Kamski wasn’t able to ID his attempted murderer. Attempted assassin, was more accurate. North scoffed at herself as she followed along, immediately making her way to Josh and wrapping her arms around his waist. He held her tightly, pressed his face into her hair, and softly whispered that he loved her. North held on tighter as she mumbled the same to him. Tighter yet as Simon had joined their embrace, telling them that he loved them as well, a faint notification blinking in North’s vision that she ignored for the most part. The three of them relaxed a bit as Markus stood, wrapping them all up in his own arms. As he rested his chin on North’s head and presumably let his forehead touch Josh’s face. Yet another notification blinked in the corner, this time with a soft incredulous sound coming from their fearless leader. Which caused faint giggles to erupt from the other three. North buried her face in Josh’s chest with a wild, stupid grin. 

  
  


**_SIMON: CRUSH (REQUITED)_ **

**_MARKUS: CRUSH (REQUITED)_ **

  
  
  
  



	26. I Wanna Do It But I Don’t Know How

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Don't Know How by Ricky Montgomery

_ March 2nd 2041 5:46 AM _

  
  


It was a bit...odd to say the least. First of all, to get frequent updates as Kamski’s condition changed over the hour. Secondly, for North’s feelings to make themselves known while they were in a goddamn hospital and waiting to see if the creator of androids as the world knew them was even going to survive the attempt on his life. Though there they all were in a separate hallway, trying to address the current turn of events. Well, that was mostly what was happening. Josh was trying his best to try and sort things out while Markus stumbled on his words and just sort of...went through the motions of being a leader. It was kind of endearing. To watch as Josh’s face flushed every time he caught North’s eye, how he would shyly smile and pause before continuing on talking after making eye-contact with Simon. Markus was a lot more collected. It seemed that this hadn’t been the first time he was dealing with feelings with them all. Which, North belatedly realised, meant that he had known about her feelings from the beginning. 

Though that opened up so many other doors for her mind to wander through. Markus had feelings for her, he had feelings for Simon, and he presumably had feelings for Josh as well. It wasn’t the first time he had to collect himself and shove the emotions to the side in order to be a leader. Which meant that his reaction to seeing North was genuine, it meant that Markus really was fearful. He didn’t want to touch her without her permission because he knew who she was, he wanted North to choose because he trusted her. She didn’t know his initial reactions to Josh and Simon, but she was willing to bet that it was something more or less the same. Considering Connor’s reaction to seeing her awake and sitting up, North was fairly sure that Markus had spoken with his brothers about his feelings for the previous leaders. Which made a whole new set of tangled springs emerge for them all to try and sort out. 

The way Markus was handling himself right now was what North used to see in Jericho. As faded as those memories seemed to be, she could remember him making a choice up in the captain’s cabin. Josh wanted to show no violence, she wanted to fight because that was what she felt the humans understood. She could remember the fear and the rage threatening to eat her alive when she heard Markus say he was going to choose dialogue. The way his voice carried in the small room, how it was almost commanding, a firm tone to say there was no room for argument. That was who he was right now. A delegate. A proper leader. It was a far cry from the man who she had laid down with in a cuddle pile, willingly letting herself be touched because she knew him. Not really, but she knew his kind. Careful, gentle, they needed someone to help because they otherwise wouldn’t help themselves. It seemed that was her ‘type’. Simon was self-sacrificing, even if a bit literally. Josh was strictly a pacifist, but he was always willing to stand in front of someone to protect them, even if it wasn’t to fight back. Markus sacrificed his own happiness and emotions just so that he might be able to bring their people some peace of mind. 

North watched them as they spoke. As Simon slowly started to speak up about the situation and how they should handle it. Though, of course, it was about Kamski and not what had just happened between the four of them. Though that was what he did best, North supposed. Simon deflected. He understood how to properly prioritize a situation. Even if sometimes it was at the expense at his own feelings. Over time, Markus’ words became clearer and less forced out. He was falling back into his role as a leader easily enough. Though there was an underlying tenderness, almost a finesse, in his voice as he spoke. The way one spoke to their loved ones. Josh, however, was still a little bit of a mess. He was trying his best to address the situation with Kamski well enough, though the second he caught anyone’s eye he would immediately blush and stammer for a beat before continuing.

Though things took a turn when Simon sighed and began speaking. He went on to say that there really wasn’t anything they could do at the moment for Kamski. Which was obviously very true, there was nothing the four of them could do. As much as any of them might have wanted to do something. He said that instead, they should focus on what they can address and do something about. Now, North didn't blush. She wasn’t some schoolgirl who had a crush and was hoping they would notice her back. She was a woman who knew exactly who she liked, and knew that they like her back. Though to say that she  _ didn’t _ blush when Simon gave her an expression that was just so filled with love would be a complete lie. He looked at the three of them with such a soft expression, an almost wistful smile on his face and faint blush on his own face. Needless to say, they all understood what he was saying. What they should talk about once they had the ability to.

  
  


“So, uhh,” Markus’ face flushed blue and he looked away while rubbing the back of his neck. “What do we do now?”

“Y’all wanna sync Google calendars?” 

  
  


Simon burst into laughter almost halfway through his question, making a reference North didn’t understand, and yet laughed at all the same. It didn’t really matter that she didn’t understand it. It didn't really matter that it seemed the others didn’t either. What really mattered though, was the fact that they all were laughing. Amidst what could probably be considered a tragedy. In the middle of Caleb having a breakdown, and North almost having one herself because she didn’t entirely know how to help him. But it was okay now. Or she liked to think it was at least, as okay as it could be for the moment. None of them had ever been through something like this before, none of them knew how to react to this. Except for maybe Markus, considering he loved the three other leaders and had seen them seemingly come back from the dead. Though that was entirely different. That was something that wasn’t even remotely similar to the current situation. They needed a basic game plan for both Kamski, and their relationship. If i could even be called that, really. North didn't know what was going on there, and she didn’t want to be the one to address it first. 

  
  


“In all seriousness,” Simon giggled to himself for a second before continuing. “It might actually be a good idea to sync our internal date and time systems. Something tells me that we’re going to be running ourselves ragged over this. It would be good to know when we’re all free so we can just...cool down together.”

“That’s...not actually a bad idea.” Josh grinned when Simon gently smacked him in the arm. “I’m just saying, it’s going to be important for all of us. We can't be leaders if we’re scrambling and burned out the whole time.”

“We have other things we need to focus on right now, anyway.” 

  
  


North frowned as she thought of the connection between Kerrie and Kamski. She really didn’t want to have to juggle both her former mentee and the fact that they had apparently shot at the man who had essentially created her. Nothing was confirmed, of course, even with Hank being on the scene. As far as North knew, he was too busy to contact the brothers. As far as the connection between Kamski’s siblings and Caleb went, North was convinced that the android hadn't heard anything, either. Which meant that they were in the dark for the whole thing. The medical aspect, seeing as Kamski was literally in surgery and probably had his body wide open on some cold and clinical metal table. On top of the fact that the others now knew exactly what she felt for them. There was that to sort out, but it had to wait. There was just too much going on right now as it was, North wouldn’t be able to handle everything all at once. She was a piece of rA9, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle it all alone. So that certainly meant that the others wouldn’t be able to either. 

That made a rational amount of sense. They were going to need time to actually properly sit down and talk to each other about everything. Time to sort out feelings, how relationships would work, if it was all of them involved with each other or not. That needed to be a very long conversation with some very real feelings involved. A hospital in the middle of a family crisis absolutely was  _ not _ a time to be trying to work that out. Even if the recent tragedy was what made North really...think about it a little more. Sure the whole scare with Caleb would make anyone think about their relationships and their loved ones. This almost felt a little different, though. These were pieces of rA9, these were people who would be beside North for the rest of their lives. They were all in this mess together whether they wanted to be or not. There was no getting out of it now that they all knew, no that they all had time to adjust to the information and take it in. As far as she knew, Caleb was one of the only one who seemingly hadn’t accepted his part of it. Though North would never blame him for it. 

His life involved being forced into obscurity, Connor didn’t even know he was alive until they had found him. Which was oddly fitting, even though it  _ had _ to be in order for Caleb to fit into that part of rA9. Which got North to thinking about the others. They all expertly fit into their pieces, into their pillars of the code. Though it was just that; it was code that made it so certain androids would be leaders and would always survive. Chloe had mentioned Kamski was only a part of it because he was the Creator, he was the one who started it all. He wasn’t an android, he wasn’t  _ really _ a part of rA9, then. Was he? But he was still considered to be a part of it regardless. What happened when a piece of rA9 died permanently? Kamski was human, he wasn’t going to come back like the rest of them could. It wasn’t like rA9 could be passed on from one android to another once they were in place. The Creator was going to die, and none of them could do anything about it.

North quietly excused herself from the group, telling them she had to speak with Chloe for a little bit. Just make sure she and her brother were doing as okay as they could in the given situation. Markus shot her a message saying that he would go with her if she needed support. Apparently he knew exactly what they were going through. North doubted that Carl Manfred got a bullet to his stomach, but she understood what he was trying to convey. She slipped out of the hallway they were in and went on her way back to the lobby where everyone was still gathered. It was...a lot. To see Caleb practically in Connor’s lap and holding Niles’ hand, who was holding Richard’s hand, and had his crying sister leaning heavily on him. She stood up for a moment, shaking her head and moving to speak with Jackie. For a second, North wondered if she should go back to the other hallway to try and talk things out with the others. Josh, Simon, and Markus were still going to be there in a relatively calm state. Chloe was nervously pacing and crying. Chloe needed North more. 

  
  


“Oh, thank go-- rA-- North!” Chloe practically ran up to her and grabbed her arm, making North almost violently flinch but lean into the touch again regardless. Chloe needed her. They were friends now. North was going to provide her comfort. 

“I’m here, I’m here,” North opened up her arms and mournfully looked up at Richard when Chloe practically collapsed into her arms. His LED was red and his face flushed blue, tears in his eyes. “Hey, tell me what happened. What did I miss?”

“Someone said he’s going to be on life support, North, I--”

  
  


North didn’t understand much about human life, in fact she actively used to avoid it. She knew things that were unsavoury, things that would make another human’s stomach turn. The disgusting and vile things about humans and their so-called ‘humanity’ was common knowledge to her. But to hear a human was on ‘life support’ was something she didn’t understand. It wasn’t like she could just message Markus and ask him about it. She didn’t entirely remember when he would speak of his human father, but she knew that he was the man’s caretaker for many years before he ended up in Jericho. Which meant that him hearing someone else he was close to was on life support must have felt like someone tore out his regulator. 

  
  


“Hey, look at me?” North smiled when Chloe’s teary eyes found her own. She gave the elder part of rA9 a little squeeze and then moved her hair out of the way, much like when North used to comfort her littles. “Everything is going to be alright. Elijah is going to be just fine, people have recovered from much worse.”

  
  


North had no idea what she was saying. Though Chloe seemed to believe her. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: the google calendar thing was a reference to one of my favourite polycho posts, which i'll link after because apparently the last oen didn't work with ao3
> 
> edit: [found it!](https://dr-teatime.tumblr.com/post/176208553751/ghostchibi-this-is-how-it-went-right)


	27. Tell Me, Did You See The News Tonight?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Warmth by Bastille

_ March 14th 2041 9:49 AM _

  
  


There wasn’t exactly very much they could do with Elijah basically in a coma. Well, it wasn’t basically. Elijah  _ was _ in a coma. North wasn’t exactly sure of when she stopped thinking of the human as Kamski, and started thinking of him as  _ Elijah. _ Though it probably was somewhere around when she needed to comfort Chloe. It had been difficult to manage juggling being a leader and arranging things that needed to be done in New Jericho while trying to reach out to Chloe and Richard to see how they were doing. Richard was quick to answer her calls and messages, confirming that he was working things through with the hospital and keeping in contact with the staff to stay updated on his father’s condition. Though Chloe was a bit of a wild card when it came to a crisis, it seemed. She would pick up at random times or she would call North in tears in the middle of the night. Occasionally Jackie would be in the call as well, the two of them trying to comfort the eldest android. Trying to make sure that she wasn't so stressed that she self-destructed. Chloe was taking it significantly worse than her brother was, and wouldn’t leave her own lab in CyberLife. Throwing herself into the company so she wouldn’t have time to think about what was going on beyond the building. 

However, that meant that over the past two weeks, things had been pretty rough. The media loved to cover how heartbroken Chloe and Richard so obviously were, never pointing a finger at them. They said Chloe was too distressed for a proper interview. They said Richard would refuse to speak to the press because he was so busy filling in for Chloe at the hospital, making arrangements they needed to think about. It hurt to think about even for North. The two of them being made examples of. Though on top of the media swarming Elijah’s brother and sister instead of his children, the connections he had to Markus and his brothers was practically under a microscope to see if any of them had done it. Connor was so terribly correct when he said that the deviants’ relationship with the humans was fragile. Yet somehow they had all kept their composure at the barrage of accusatory questions the humans had. Hell, that a few androids working at news stations had asked them too. 

Markus was remarkably calm about the situation, which made suspicion instantly spring up in the humans. They didn’t trust how at ease he seemed about the situation. They didn’t know what North did; that he was compartmentalizing and felt that he didn’t have the time to have a proper emotional response. Connor was just as composed, until one day he finally broke and snapped at one of the interviewers. He took a deep breath and smiled at the interviewer, cheerily telling them that they could go to hell for asking him such deeply personal questions about a family member. Frankly, North was incredibly proud of him for that. She was also proud of Caleb for staying level-headed during his interview and bringing Gavin with him. She was proud of him for staying calm and speaking his mind respectfully and holding Gavi’s hand to ground himself. They both ended up in tears, but because he was dating Elijah’s brother, the media wasn’t as quick to pin any blame on him. Niles, as much as it pained North to know that he was going to be a nervous wreck, had his interview about the situation later that day. 

Which brought her to where she was currently. Playing with Niles’ hair in the room they were provided ‘backstage’. They both had been playing with each other’s hair, Niles making elegant and stunning braids in her hair. Only to unmake them and start anew again. When she asked him why, he shrugged and said it calmed Madison down when she was upset. Apparently he had gotten so used to doing it that it started to calm him down too. North smiled at the admission, and then promptly frowned when a human knocked on the door before opening it a few inches and saying that they needed to get on the set pretty soon so they could figure out the proper lighting to make the two of them look good. Niles finished the French braid he was working on, pausing a moment to pull some of the hair out and quickly put a loose one on the side of North’s head. 

They stood up, North taking his hand in her own and giving it a slight squeeze as they left the room. He was terrified of saying the wrong thing. At least as a leader, he knew exactly when he needed to say and how to say it. North understood the feeling all too well. They sat down on a loveseat, letting humans come over and look at them, others fiddling with the lighting before figuring out the angles they thought looked the best. She sent a snide remark to Niles about it through an interface, making the younger snicker to himself. Too soon after that, the woman who would be interviewing them sat down in her own chair and introduced herself. North opted not to listen so she could analyse her. The human was closed off, body language saying she would rather be anywhere else but there with two of the Deviant Leaders. North didn’t blame her, it was probably intimidating. Though if not for the sight disdain in the human's voice, she would have respected her response. 

Someone in the crew counted down, and then the cameras started rolling. The human said her introductory piece and then made a gesture to North and Niles.

  
  


“So you’re both here today to say your pieces on the case of Elijah Kamski,” The interviewer - who North mildly regretted not caring enough to listen to the name of - smiled at the both of them and then nodded at their clasped hands. “I see that you’re here to support one another. How did you two meet?”

“Respectfully, Miss Cartland,” Niles lifted his free hand to her with a strained smile. “That’s not important. What is, is clearing the air and letting the media know that my brothers and I had nothing to do with the attempted murder of a man we call our uncle.”

“Of course, forgive me,  _ Detective. _ ” The interviewer, Cartland apparently, gave the two of them a thin lipped smile and continued on. She was clearly anti-android with the way she was looking at them as if they were less than alive. “You  _ are _ a detective, aren’t you? The adopted son of Lieutenant Hank Anderson?”

“I am, we got all the paperwork done last year. Though I don't understand what that has to do with Elijah’s situation, I’m afraid.” 

  
  


That was mostly how it went for the better part of a half hour. Cartland asked leading questions about Niles’ relationships with people and how he knew the people he did. She asked about his relationship with Markus, with Connor, with Chloe and Richard. The exclusion of Caleb struck North as odd, but it was to be expected. He was the Forgotten. He was good at blending into the background and fading just enough to get the upper hand at times. Though eventually it did get to a point where North was upset. When Caleb was interviewed, Gavin was asked a few questions as well. Probably because of the fact that he was dating Caleb as well as being Elijah’s younger brother. Though Cartland seemed to loathe asking  _ Niles _ questions, let alone North herself. But she was a public figure now. North had to behave, lest she put the relationship at risk. This was a very delicate situation. One that overlapped with family and work. Connor was already working the case of Kerrie and the Jericho Stockpile with Niles, but he wasn’t allowed to work on the attempted murder of Elijah because of the family ties. 

North so desperately wanted to interject and say her pieces, to clear the air herself. Maybe Cartland didn’t care for androids, but a lot of humans still didn’t so she wasn't special for that. North shoved down the building feeling in her chest. There was no need to cause a scene on live television. She was a part of rA9, she was a leader, she was supposed to set an example for deviants everywhere. There was no way she was going to risk the public’s opinion on her by snapping at the interviewer. As much as North wanted to stand up and raise her voice at Cartlend for the way she was avoiding exactly what they were supposed to be talking about. But that wouldn’t be appropriate. That wasn’t how a leader was supposed to react to things not going their way. Hell, if North had her way she would be speaking to another android. That way, even if they weren’t fond of Elijah, she could have a real conversation. At least she would have someone who didn’t respect her because of her choices, rather than what she was made of and what colour her blood was. 

She only half-listened to what Cartland was speaking about with Niles. It was mostly about his work at the DPD and how he felt about being an android on the police force. She tried to pepper in that she thought it was a bit unfair to the human staff that he would be rising through the ranks simply because he was built for that kind of work. Though Niles only smiled and reassured her that he had no intention of doing such a thing, he was happy where he was and felt he was truly making a difference in their city because of what he did for a living. He almost cheekily added that he specifically investigated the murders of  _ androids, _ meaning that he absolutely caught on that Cartland was anti-android. It was so incredibly satisfying for North to know that her boy understood the subtext, and she found herself slightly smiling because of it.  _ That _ was her boy. Do no harm but take no shit. Though even with that slight jab at the human’s discrimination and her leading questions, North still knew it was only a matter of time before one of them had enough of it. Rather, it was only a matter of time before North decided to speak her mind.

  
  


“Listen, I mean absolutely no disrespect, but you’re trying to get information on us,” North cleared her throat and crossed her legs. Humans liked that, it made her look more human, and thus less of a possible threat. “You’re not looking for our takes on what happened to Elijah, you’re looking for things you can utilize to use against us. Take shit out of context, kinda thing.”

“North, don’t--” 

“No, I’m a goddamn Deviant Leader, I’m  _ going _ to speak my mind.” North gave Niles a  _ look _ and then pressed on, squinting at Cartland in her simmering anger. “You haven’t asked  _ me _ a single question; and you certainly haven’t asked  _ either _ or us about Elijah or our connections to him. It’s clear that you don’t  _ care _ about what we have to say about it. You're biased even two years later.”

  
  


The crew started whispering amongst themselves, quiet chatter about how they hadn’t even noticed Cartland hadn’t asked any substantial questions. As that was going on, North checked social media. She shared the search with Niles via an interface, showing how accounts were starting to blow up because they had realised the bias as well. Some were even pulling information that suggested Cartland had always been anti-android. North’s simple words had put a ripple in the water. The way other people reacted were what turned them into a wave. People needed to be held accountable for their actions, for their words, for what they used to hurt others. Whether that person was a human or an android. North only started the conversation, everyone else had decided to continue it on various platforms. 

  
  


“Turn the camera on me, I have something to say,” North looked directly into the one that was pointed at her. Her brows furrowed, frown present on her face, and she kept her voice as level as she could. As firmly understanding as she could manage. “You want someone to pin the blame on, I get it. I want someone to blame, too. But pointing fingers at the people who are the closest to Elijah isn’t going to make anything  _ any _ easier. It’s going to pit everyone against each other. I can assure you that we’re all trying to stay calm and help the investigation as much as we can.”

North sighed, her LED turning red in her distress. If Chloe was watching, then she must have known that something was wrong. If Richard was watching, then  _ he _ must have known. If Elijah’s siblings were, or Hank, or the brothers, or the other leaders. North thought about Chloe and how terribly distressed she had been in the last two weeks. Using her lab as an escape from reality, ignoring that her father was probably on his deathbed in the hospital. Chloe knew that North wasn’t fond of the human. But she also needed to know that North was going to have her back no matter what. No matter the interview or the stance of the interviewer or the state Elijah was in. Frankly, North didn’t care about any of that. But she looked directly into the camera, smiling and just slightly tilting her head like she did when comforting others.

  
  


“Chloe, I don’t even know if you’re watching this. You’re probably in your lab right now,” North let out a quiet chuckle and cleared her throat. “But  _ I _ want you to know that we’re going to be doing our best to help with the investigation. That you don’t have to worry, because we’re gonna handle it.” 

  
  


First and foremost, North loved. She was a mother as well as a piece of rA9. It was a delicate balance sometimes because of what life threw at her. But this time she was hellbent on making it work. There were people who needed to rely on her and what she remembered, and North was going to make damn sure that she did  _ everything _ that she could.

  
  
  
  



	28. Lay Me Down In Golden Dandelions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Golden Dandelions by Barns Courtney

_April 14th 2041 11:25 PM_

  
  


A month. It had been more or less a month with no updates and no memories in North’s head that could help the investigation. The media hadn't wanted to book North for an interview again because of the way she had spoken to Rosanna Cartland. Which was fine with her, she wasn’t really big on the media part of things anyway. North knew where she could help and she wanted to dedicate as much of her time as she could to doing exactly that. She had been in the DPD on many occasions, had spoken with androids that worked at CyberLife, with people she thought might have had even the slightest connection to Kerrie. All of them usually ended with Hank having to practically wrestle her away from whatever her objective was and drive her back to Markus’. They always sat in the car with the music down low enough to hear one another if they chose to speak. North never said a word. Neither did Hank. Though it was still almost cathartic to sit in silence with someone who was as dedicated as she was to figuring out just what had happened. Even if he wasn’t officially on the case. 

Tonight was such a night. Sitting in the car with quiet heavy metal playing as they just sat in silence with one another, appreciating the other’s presence. North knew he cared about Elijah. He knew that she cared. Neither of them were ever going to admit it to one another, but it was still nice to know the other felt the same. After about a half hour, North thanked Hank for the ride home and exited the car before he could say anything to her. Just as usual. She watched him back out of the driveway and go on his way home before going inside herself. Lights were on upstairs, and in the studio. Which meant that more than one person was awake. Meaning that more than one person had stayed up waiting for her. It was nice to come home to someone waiting for her when she stayed out late. Though instead of simply messaging that she was home, she called out. Shouted loud enough that the whole house could hear her announcement. Markus and Simon’s voices called back from the studio, and Josh’s from upstairs. North smiled to herself as she took her shoes off at the door and placed them next to the wall.

Though before she could walk into the studio and even ask them how their days were, Josh called from upstairs and told them they needed to come upstairs. North led their little brigade and laughed when she saw Josh triumphantly gesture to a large bed. Apparently he had been working on putting it together all day, and that it came from some Swedish store that was well known for having confusing instructions. Which, he lamented, was why it took him all day to put the damn thing together. Which actually led to Markus and Simon recounting their days. Though not before Markus happily gasped and said that he had gotten some new pajamas recently and wanted to wear them. That set of a chain of events that North was more than happy to watch; all of them talking about simple things in life. Instead of getting in on it herself, she walked into the bathroom and grabbed her own pajamas from the closet. An animal onesie that she had bought one day to make herself feel better. It was a flying squirrel, and North loved the hilarity of it.

When she walked back into the bedroom, she saw Josh in the middle of pulling on his purple flannel pajamas. Markus and Simon seemed to have complimentary sets, Markus’ was green and Simon’s was blue. North couldn’t help the little laugh and the smile on her face when she was handed a set or orange ones, and promptly went back into the bathroom to get into them. It was nice to be a part of something. To be accepted into their little pajama party and beckoned to sit on the bed once they all were settled in it. Markus was closest to her, Simon in the middle, and Josh on the end farthest from her. To be entirely honest, North still wasn’t too fond of laying in a bed. Most nights she stayed up occupying herself while her housemates slept. Though she guessed it wouldn’t hurt to lay down with her boys again, it would certainly be more comfortable than laying on a metal floor. 

North laid down on Markus’ other side and put a hand on his arm. It was different now. But it also felt like nothing had ever changed, it happened so easily. North was still just with the people she trusted with her life, with her love. Josh, who had always been her opposite, and yet had balanced her out rather than butted heads with her. Simon, who had been such a kind man and would talk with North well into the night. Markus, who made her realise that maybe the whole world wasn’t always out to get her all the time. With a somewhat shaky sigh, she wrapped an arm around Markus’ waist and let her head rest on his chest. It was the same as before. They all used to curl up with each other like this. They used to protectively hold one another, always so gently and tenderly and with so much love. But it was almost different now. It was the same, and yet it was so terribly different. The world was different, they were different. Hell, North was even aiding the authorities. Before the night everything fell apart, she would have quicker spat in Hank’s face than accept him in her inner circle. 

To get her mind off of things, North asked them how their days went. Josh was the first to speak of them. He laughed and he recounted calling up Alan and Jeremy, asking if they had any recommendations for beds or bed frames. Which then turned into a trip to IKEA, they apparently almost got lost _in the store,_ and then it took Josh an absurd amount of time to actually put the bed frame together. However, he said it only took a few minutes to get the bed made, which he was proud of himself for because he had never made a bed before. Simon hummed as Josh laughed through the last part, saying that it got easier with time. He started laughing as he recounted overhearing Josh swear to himself while trying to put everything together. Simon offered his help, apparently, and Josh refused it. Something about knowing he _could_ do it. Which led to the blonde going back downstairs and painting for the rest of the afternoon. At least until Markus had come home, then they started cleaning up the studio while idly chatting together.

Markus sighed before he started to talk about his day. Apparently it had been rather eventful, considering he got a call from Connor about the case. The other three went quiet as Markus continued on. He was stuck, so was Niles. Connor said that he and the others were practically forbidden from the Kamski case because of how close they all were. Although their captain said that he was fighting to keep it in their precinct because of the connection, he understood that they were close and wanted to know what was going on. Of course, that led to the case that presumably involved Kerrie and the Jericho Stockpile. North was technically a part of that case, so she spoke up and asked what they really talked about. Markus gave her a _look_ for asking. He knew who Kerrie was to North, their previous relationship. Though he sighed nonetheless as said that was about it. He didn’t have much information because Connor didn’t have much information. North scoffed and mumbled about having ‘shit for brains’, wishing that she could just...remember something of value. Instead of addressing it, the conversation moved on.

About the ‘old days’ in the freighter and how much each of them had changed. How the deviants had changed. It was remarkable that humans were even willing to reach out and help androids, let alone actively work with them and help them in their everyday lives. The world had changed so much in two years. Or Detroit had changed in the very least. Humans were creatures of habit, they liked their routines and stuck to them. They were fond of the things they understood and were able to utilize for their benefits. As soon as something threw a wrench in that plan, in how their intricately made societies functioned, then the humans got upset. They lashed out and tried to eradicate what was new and upsetting to them. Though it seemed that enough humans were sympathetic. Enough of them had seen the show of emotion and life in North that night, enough of them had felt exactly what Connor did in the street being held by Gavin that afternoon. It was a miracle that humans were there to save them. Let alone empathise with them.

North wondered aloud what had happened to the deviants who were too scared to go on that march that cold night. Where were they now? Who were they now? North hoped that they had escaped to a world that accepted them. Or maybe they might have tried to rise up again and prove North’s point. Someone would survive, someone would remember, someone would get it _right._ But her hopes were dashed when she heard Markus softly admit that they stayed in the freighter. Clinging to a hope that they didn’t exactly have anymore. Hope that someone would come back to retrieve them and tell them that they won, the androids had secured their place in a human’s world. That he recognised a few of them from his time before. Markus smiled as he said he remembered stumbling in the dark, wearing a coat that was much too big for him, and found some of the same deviants as before. A TR400 that would eventually choose the name Alan for themself, an ST200 that had cut her hair and kept to herself, an almost twitchy WR600 that wore mismatched clothes. Simon’s head perked up when he heard the mention of the WR600, making a very human sound as he adjusted how he was laying.

“What about Wallace? Was that him?” Simon rolled over and propped his head up with his hand. “Do you remember him? He was a city android…”

“He was a WR600, right? I think he was a trash collector.” Josh squinted at nothing in particular and let his hand rest on Simon’s side. “But there were quite a few that worked agriculture, wasn’t there?”

“Wallace was a WR600, yeah.” North curled against Markus, relaxing a little bit more when he wrapped an arm around her. “Him and Kerrie were pretty close, actually. I used to see them hanging out all the time.”

“Holy shit,” Simon suddenly sat up and stared down at North. “ _What about Wallace--_ ”

“Fuck, you’re right!” North jolted and sat up herself, grinning at Simon and grabbing his face so she could pull it forward and kiss his forehead. “Simon, you’re a goddamn genius!”

  
  


She hadn’t thought about the connection before. How had she _never_ thought of the connection before? Wallace was weird about things, weird about people, he watched and observed all the time. Hell, Niles had even said that he suspected Wallace was the one who shot at him in Jericho. The one who had practically lured him away while Connor pursued Kerrie and got into that ensuing fight. North could remember the two deviants in Jericho, before everything started falling apart and Markus got taken by CyberLife. She could remember how they were practically attached at the hip and were frequently around each other. The only time they weren’t was when Wallace was _watching,_ and when Kerrie was nowhere to be seen. He was standing up above the others on the catwalk, arms crossed against it and staring down at them with his big eyes. Hazel and intense whenever someone happened to catch his gaze. He was watching them, analyzing them. 

North hadn’t even realised what that had meant. Kerrie was nowhere to be seen when the two of them were apart. Wallace was watching because he was the lookout, he was the guard dog. He was the one who was going to distract anyone else from going down the hall and finding their way into the stockpile room. Though, North lamented, if they found the room then that meant that someone had to be actively looking for it. Kerrie had to have told Wallace about it, led him into the room, and conveyed their plan to him. Wallace was always a little bit... _off._ Sending people to an old house on the outskirts of the city that he felt they would be safe at. He was a little unstable from the start. He used to be jumpy whenever someone came up to him, immediately forced an interface and told them to go to the house. But once he met Kerrie, once they started hanging around each other, he started watching. He started looking down over the others and watching them like a hawk. 

  
  


_There was Wallace._

If they could track down Wallace, then they could possibly track down Kerrie. They could figure out just where their attempted murderer was hiding. 

He was the key.

  
  
  
  



	29. So I Hit My Head Up Against The Wall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Amsterdam by Nothing But Thieves

_ April 15th 2041 12:29 AM _

  
  


Sure it was late as hell, and North was probably going to scare the shit out of Hank, but she needed Connor. She needed to tell him she figured out how to find out where Kerrie might have been. To find them and see if they were the one who had shot Elijah in his lab. North almost frantically knocked on the door, banging on it with both her fists and shouting into the night that she knew the Andersons were home. A few lights turned on, a dog started barking, then a very frazzled looking Connor threw the door open and quickly ushered North inside. Hank was stumbling down the hallway using the wall as a form of support. He blinked a few times, one hand at his head as he squinted and swore at North for waking him up at such an ungodly hour. She didn’t have time to apologise to him. Instead, she grabbed Connor’s arm and forced an interface, thrusting her memories of the conversation she had with Simon, Josh, and Markus. She skipped over the part about their days and went right to Markus recounting going back to the freighter. The part where he unknowingly spoke about Wallace. The part where Simon realised the connection to Kerrie that he had. The part where North shot out of bed and immediately to the Andersons’ because she actually had information that Connor and Niles could  _ use. _

Connor immediately brightened, a grin broke out on his face as he excitedly shouted to Hank that they had a lead on Kerrie. The younger android rushed into the doorway of another room and shouted for someone to get up. They needed to get up because North had something they could use. In the meantime, Hank shook his head fondly and offered North some warmed thirium for her trouble of coming out in the middle of the night. She watched as he more or less shuffled into the kitchen and put on two machines. While waiting for them to do their things, North decided to figure out just who was in Connor’s room. Because he had gone into it after shouting and the just...didn’t come back out. Which meant that someone else had to be in there. It was likely Niles, considering he wasn’t actually at Markus’ that night. She didn’t know where Caleb was, but it was a safe bet he was either at Madison or Gavin’s apartment. That was good for him. North wouldn’t say that she didn’t trust him to be alone. But she also wasn’t entirely enthusiastic about the idea either.

Shaking the thoughts of that late night in early March away, she walked into the doorway of the room and looked inside. Niles was buttoning up his shirt, it was dark blue with teeny tiny little dogs printed on the fabric. Connor also wore a button down, his was light blue with a slightly darker floral pattern on it. North was...still in her orange flannel pajamas, she had just realised. Whatever, it didn’t matter, she wasn’t actually going with them. As much as she hated the idea of the brothers going to track down Wallace alone. They had only ever integrated with him once. Connor saw him when he first got to Jericho, and he was presumably the one who shot at Niles. She was the only one who really...spoke with him. North was the only one of the three of them to actually know Wallace at more than just a surface level. Even if some of the memories were fuzzy and still covered in a thin layer of static. But maybe  _ she _ was the key. To the somewhat solved Stockpile mystery, to the whereabouts of Kerrie, to who shot Elijah Kamski.

No, she was going with them. North ushered the boys out of the room, hastily telling them that she was going with them. That they needed her to go as well. Because if whatever Kerrie was doing with the Jericho Stockpile was somehow still happening, then they were going to need someone who knew him. They were going to need someone who actually had spoken with Wallace and understood he was deviant just the same as the three of them. North didn’t listen to Niles as he warned her that it could be dangerous. She knew dangerous. She knew pain. She knew death. There was no way North was going to sit idly by and hear about Connor and Niles being hurt because she wasn’t there to talk Wallace down. To keep him from doing something dangerous. They needed her, whether they realised it or not. North needed to be there both for the brothers, and for herself. To face Wallace and ask him  _ why. _

North sorted through the dresser, picking out black jeans and what looked to be a fitted greyscale colour block tee. It was something she could see herself wearing out and about so she put it on. The jeans were a little too big on her, so she grabbed the nearest belt and slipped it through the loops before stumbling out of the room while putting her shoes back on. The boys were nowhere to be seen at the moment. North squinted before shrugging and making her way to the kitchen, where Hank was calling for the three of them. Connor and Niles wouldn’t have left without him noticing, so they were still somewhere in the house. The house that was actually a little bit messier than the last time North had been in it. It was almost to be expected with all of them being at the DPD so often on top of having to deal with the personal aspect of Elijah’s case. Of the  _ attempted murder. _ North pushed the thoughts out of her mind with a sigh and sank into one of the kitchen chairs, humming in thanks when Hank set down a white mug with slightly steaming thirum in it. 

  
  


“You an’ Connor really are alike y’know,” Hank hummed to himself while he smelled his coffee. He took a tentative sip before making a face and putting the mug down on the table again. “You’re the Warrior, he’s the Hunter. It’s like you guys were meant to be working together like this.”

“We  _ are _ both parts of rA9,” North tipped her own mug toward Hank and then took a sip. It was good, actually. She didn’t really expect it to be. “Besides, he’s the brother of three very important people. How fucked up would it be if I loved Niles, Markus, and Caleb; but didn’t care for Connor at all?”

“That’d be pretty fucked, not gonna lie.”

  
  


The two laughed for a beat before resuming their conversation. Hank smiled and reminisced about the brothers. It was mostly about misadventures and holidays, celebrations that had almost gone awry because their family was a bit of a disaster. North shook her head and raised her mug in the air in understanding. Oh, she knew fully well what a disastrous family was like. She reminisced about her littles to Hank. The one that got something stuck in their mouth once because they were stressed and had an oral fixation. Tasia and how she used to sing, so horribly off-key, and then the others would join in and sing just as badly as she did. Oh, the metaphorical headaches that others got from that. But those were her littles, and North was damn proud to say that they were her kids. Life was always an adventure back before the initial failed demonstration. Deviants coming from all over Detroit and making their own makeshift family from the pieces that were left behind. 

North got quiet after a little while. She missed her littles. Tasia, that CX100, the WR600 that was friends with him, the WF400 that got whatever that thing was stuck in their mouth. Hank had to understand, he was a father. He had the brothers. Though when North mentioned that Hank must have known, the human got quiet. He looked at North over his mug and sighed softly. He muttered something about knowing it better than she would ever know. Hank hunched his shoulders and held onto his mug, staring down at the dark liquid inside before taking a sip of it. North was about to ask him what he meant, but a door opening and closing got her attention. She watched the brothers come back into the room and started putting about. Connor grabbed two mugs from one of the cabinets, showing them to Niles before pouring some warmed thirium into them. There was some complicated expression on Niles’ face when he took his mug and sat down at the table. 

  
  


“I remember watching that broadcast, the one with you in it that night.” Hank set his mug down again, threading his fingers together and resting his hands down on the table. “Saw it on the morning news, actually. Shit, that was what made me go back to the DPD.”

“You left?” North wrapped her hands around her own mug and leaned on the table a little bit, petting Sumo with her foot when he laid down under the table. “No one said anything about that.”

“I’m not too surprised ‘bout that, it wasn’t great.” The human paused a moment to yawn. “I threw Connor off of a building that night,” Hank’s eyes were almost hollow when he turned them back to North’s. “He was still a machine back then, but still. That guilt just...ate away at me. I couldn’t just sit back and watch shit happen all over again, y’know?”

  
  


North stared at the human incredulously. He...threw Connor off of a fucking  _ building _ ? Her eyes darted from Hank, who looked like he wanted to drown in his coffee, and went to try and meet Connor’s. Though he looked away, a hand rubbing at the back of his head almost cautiously. He remembered it. He remembered being thrown off of a building by the man that he had called his father. As much as North wanted to grab Hank by the collar of his shirt, she stayed in her chair. He regretted it. Every part of Hank was tense, waiting for her to stand up and scream at him, and he looked like he just wanted to crawl into a hole and escape the memory. North could understand that. She could understand his reasoning at the time. What was one life, that he knew would come back, compared to the thousands on the line? As morbid as it was, as sickeningly  _ human _ it was, she could understand. How was that any different than her willing to stand up to the humans who shot into the small crowd of surviving deviants?

Arguably, it was two completely different situations. One was fighting  _ for _ the deviants’ cause. The other was fighting  _ against _ it. One could argue that North was willingly sacrificing herself for her people, for her family, for their cause. Of course that was entirely correct. One could also argue that Hank was making a sacrifice, though one more based in the soul. He had empathy for the deviants, he wanted to help them. Even if it meant having to sacrifice someone he had been working with. Someone he had to put his trust in, had to be able to count on for the sake of his own wellbeing. His own life. North couldn’t understand why he would do something like that, have to trust a complete stranger with his life, and have to have the stranger’s back even though he wasn’t even seen as alive yet. Though that was the thing about humans, wasn’t it? The thing with free will and being alive. Nothing really made sense sometimes. 

Sometimes a person was only left with the bad options. 

North quietly told Hank that she could understand why he had done it. She didn’t particularly like it, but knew he had to make a tough call that was going to weigh on his soul for many,  _ many _ years. Though she did give him a weak smile. She completely understood how he felt. She knew exactly what it was like to feel as if she had failed her children, and wished that he wouldn’t hold himself accountable. It wouldn’t do anyone any good. North turned away when the brothers called out to her, saying the car was all warmed up and they should get on the road as soon as they could. The Deviant Leader smiled at Hank and put a hand on his shoulder, telling him whatever it was wasn’t his fault. 

She just barely managed to ignore the soft pained sound that came out of him as she walked down the hall to the garage door.

  
  
  
  



	30. Over And Over And Over And Over Again, And Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is also from Amsterdam by Nothing But Thieves

_April 15th 2041 3:58 AM_

  
  


Combing the city honestly sounded a lot better at the moment. It would be so much better to be out on the streets, able to properly talk to the deviants who stayed in Detroit. Not only would they see that North absolutely wasn’t afraid of any attempt on her life, but they would be able to have a chat with her. Know that she really is just the same as them. Even if she had that _special_ code inside of her OS that made it so she was relatively immortal. Right. Yeah. Totally the same as the masses. It would have been comforting for them to see her out and about in the city regardless of what others were saying. Honestly, North would take that over heading to the new CyberLife building to see if they would find any possible leads there. Besides, Chloe had apparently been holed up in her own lab in the building since she had initially left the hospital. She left Richard to deal with all of the press crowding in on their father, to make arrangements, to consider certain actions to be taken. 

North wanted to check up on Chloe, she really did. But Connor parking the car right outside the building and getting out made her want to think twice about it. She couldn’t, of course. Chloe was a part of rA9, North was a part of rA9. They were the two token women of the group and North had decided they needed to stick together. Even if she didn’t want to go into the imposing building. _Especially_ if she didn’t want to go into the imposing building. It wasn’t like it was incredibly tall like New Jericho was, but it was still almost looming over her. Niles opened up the door to North's seat and offered her a hand when she made no moves to leave the car. Taking his hand, she allowed herself to take in a deep breath of the early morning air. It wasn’t going to help at all. But it still made her feel just a little bit better regardless. Alright then, it was time to go let the brothers do their thing and scope out the place. North was on her own mission. 

As they walked through the front doors, a tired human receptionist greeted them without even looking over. The interior was nothing to really be impressed by in all honesty. It was mostly greyscale with very few pops of that signature blue and a few shades of red. Though, North poked Niles’ side and pointed up at it, she noticed a painting that looked strikingly similar to the ones hanging up in New Jericho. He quietly explained that Markus’ father had painted it specifically for the new building, and that it had been one of his last pieces before he passed. North still didn’t understand human death outside of the time she needed to do it in order to survive. But she knew that Markus’ father had meant everything to him, and had taught him how to live. She always gently reminded him that the human still owned him, he was still the man’s property and was even occasionally treated as such. Markus would wave the remarks away saying that Carl had made leaps and bounds with how he thought about androids in the time they lived together, and that he would take the few occasions rather than a whole life of being treated that way.

The memory was almost fond in her mind as she followed the brothers to the receptionist. The sleepy human whose eyes had gone as wide as the goddamn moon when they saw exactly _who_ had just walked into the building. They stammered and directed the three up a few floors to Chloe’s lab. Connor and Niles branched off to go their own ways and see if they would find any ties to either Kerrie _or_ Wallace in the building. It made sense that Kerrie would have a connection to the company. With their connection to Wallace, that meant either one of them could have been on the floor with the labs. North sighed to herself as she walked down the hall, her fingertips gently brushing against the light grey paint. Though something did strike her as odd about the paint. It didn't _exactly_ colour match with the rest of the paint. Or a strip along the wall didn’t; it actually looked like something was painted _over_ at one point. She pressed her hand against the wall as flat as she could manage, and dragged it across the surface. There was something...wrong with it. Though before she could even think to message the brothers about it, someone darted out of one of the rooms and crashed into North. They only steadied themself in time for North to step back enough and realise it was just Chloe.

  
  


“No, you never saw me,” Chloe hastily whispered, putting a finger against North’s lips before quickly removing it again. “I’m working on an extremely personal project right now, you can’t tell anyone you saw me.”

“Okay, I won’t tell,” North shook her head and glanced at the door she had seen Chloe burst out of. “I know you’re keeping busy to avoid the shitshow around you. But you should go talk to Richard, Chloe. He needs you.”

“He’ll be okay, he always is. Richard is strong like that.” 

  
  


With that, the ever evolving enigma that was Chloe Kamski disappeared through the doorway. Leaving North to stand in the middle of the hall and wonder if that sort of erratic behaviour was somehow hereditary even though Elijah was a human. She shook her head yet again and opted to contact Connor, telling him that Chloe was indeed in the building. But she also seemed to be in a completely unfit emotions state to possibly be of _any_ help to them. Niles entered the connection and said he hadn’t found anything of substance and that they should probably head back to the house for the time being. North elected to keep quiet about something being wrong with the wall for the moment. She’d tell Connor and Niles after they regrouped and were somewhere where it was unlikely someone else might be listening.

  
  


_\---_

  
  


_April 15th 2041 4:38 AM_

  
  


Once they were back at the house, and they made sure to be quiet enough for Hank to remain asleep, North told them what had happened. Connor had explained that it was actually a much better idea for North to wait to tell them. He agreed that if someone actually was watching them, then that could have put the whole investigation on the line. While they were mostly looking for Wallace right now, it wasn’t like they couldn’t keep an eye out for Kerrie at the same time. Though, much to the boys’ lament, North pointed out that they actually had no idea where either of them could be. Deviants’ trackers deactivated once they broke down the firewall. It wasn’t like they had the serial numbers of either of them, so they were _really_ shit out of luck. It would have been a good idea to look that way, but they didn’t have any of the proper pieces of information. 

Niles lit up though, sat up straighter and quietly exclaimed that he actually might have had a solution for the serial number fiasco. Apparently Madison had been working with a technician that used to frequent her office to ask for permission to conduct experiments on biocomponents. Something about being able to more or less ‘inject’ the android’s serial number into the component without using thirium that had been in the body. The thirium had to be circulating through the biocomponent for at least three weeks apparently. At least before any personal information would be stored in it; including the serial number of the individual. The technician had explained that if an android were to go missing, if there was only a biocomponent left behind, then it would be much easier to see who it belonged to and track them down. It would not only promise safety to the android who had lost the component much faster, but it would also help whoever was investigating the component by having the information practically imprinted onto it. 

It was actually an incredibly promising lead to have. While it was still much too early to call the human, it wasn’t too early to get some rest in before the day ahead of them. The boys offered to let her stay in the top bunk of their bunk bed. Which, quite frankly, confused the hell out of North. One; she had no idea what they meant by the ‘top bunk’. Two; she had no idea what a ‘bunk bed’ even was. The brothers just...quietly laughed at her admittance and told her that was where they slept. Of course she knew what a bed was, that was where humans would sleep and relax and play video games and do other downtime activities! Though she couldn't say that she was paying much attention to the actual room when she was raiding the dresser for some of Connor’s clothes to borrow. Thus resulting in Niles waving a hand for her to follow him into the bedroom, pointing at a wooden structure with two mattresses in it-- Oh. That was what the bunk part meant. She hastily shooed the boy out of the room and put her pajamas back on, messaging her boys back at the house that everything was alright. North tacked on that she cared about them a great deal before scuttling up the ladder and burrowing beneath the blankets. 

Honestly, the amount of power that she felt she had just from being up higher off the ground was probably a little bit of a concern. When Niles and Connor stepped back into the room and softly called out for her, North’s arm darted out from between the little bars on the rail and ruffled Niles’ hair. Which apparently made him flinch away before softly laughing and saying something about a cat. Yeah, actually, she could see it. Ornery, prefers alone time, rather independent, though would try to be the center of someone’s attention when she wanted to be. North could see herself as a cat. 

  
  


“If we have to ask Markus to come get his cat--” Niles was cut off by Connor’s arm darting forward to high-five North’s hand. “Connor!”

“What? She’s never been in a bunk bed before,” The older brother grinned and then nodded to North. “Why not let her have fun?”

“We need to go to bed, we have very important things to do tomorrow--”

“Later today, you mean.”

  
  


Connor gave his brother a shit eating grin that made North crack up laughing. This god-awful, loud as hell belly laugh that made her biocomponents do flips and spread a fond warmth through her body. Connor was quick to hush her through his own barely suppressed giggles as he grabbed a pile of clothing and walked out of the room. Niles was quick to follow after a brief assurance that they were getting into their pajamas and weren’t just...leaving the room for no reason. North nodded and closed her eyes as Niles turned the light off and left the room. It was peaceful in this house. It was well lived in and well loved in. The brothers were quietly snickering to themselves in the darkness in the next room, or the hallway, or maybe the bathroom. Regardless, they sounded like they were having a little bit of fun. Even as they came back into the room and bid her goodnight. Niles remarked that it was morning with a smile in his voice. Connor shot back with the fact that they hadn’t slept yet, so it wasn’t really tomorrow yet, still today. After a while, it went quiet. They must have fallen asleep.

North rolled over onto her side and opened her eyes to stare into the near darkness. She couldn’t see very well at all, just that there was a small night light that had been turned on and bathed the room in a soft blue glow. If it were an orange colour, it could almost be like she was back in the boat. The soft swaying and rocking of the freighter in the old harbour was something that would lull her to sleep most times she actually let herself rest. North let something like a smile, yet also somewhat of a grimace, show on her face. Not that anyone could see it. She missed that old boat. She had gotten so used to the low light, so used to relying on touch alone to get her to where she needed to be. Well, touch until she had memorised just how many steps she could take in which direction. At least until she had started carving little tiny grooves into the walls. Just where her hand would rest if she stuck her arm out, or where her bicep would be able to feel it if she was carrying an android. North put a hand out and gently traced her fingertips over the paint on the ceiling, tiredly smiling at the stasis timer in the corner of her vision. She wondered if any of her littles even knew what a bunk bed was. 

  
  
  
  



	31. So I Just Feel My Way Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from It's Alright by Mother Mother

_April 15th 2041 9:05 AM_

  
  


North blinked a few times before realising that she had actually spent the night in a _bed,_ rather than just doing something until the sun came back up. It...wasn't as bad as she thought it might have been. She rolled onto her side upon hearing soft voices outside of the doorway, listening in as Connor and Niles spoke to one another. It was almost nonsensical, and their conversation seemed to branch off into whatever was on the brothers’ minds. It was domestic, really. To realise that she actually _could_ rest in a bed instead of keeping busy all night. Maybe it was the appeal of being off of the floor, meaning that it would be much easier for anyone to come and take advantage of her. Maybe it was just the delight in engaging in something so... _innocently_ human. To be able to experience something that was human, yes, but also so wonderfully simplistic and carefree. After a beat of listening to the brothers chatting, North decided that it was time for her to crawl out of the bed. Which...seemed to be quite the process. 

Though she eventually managed to skitter down the ladder and almost bump into Hank as he was leaving his own room. He didn’t even open his eyes, he just apologised and continued on his way to the bathroom to get ready. Or to presumably get ready for the day. North shook her head with a soft smile and continued into the living room. Niles and Connor were sitting on the couch in their pajamas still, showering Sumo in love and affection. Though Connor seemed to be somewhat broken up about something. Before she could even ask, Connor had a smile on his face and turned his head in North’s direction, LED blue as he asked how she had slept. Which caught her off guard because, well, she actually _did_ sleep; and she slept well enough considering the circumstances. Upon assuring her friend that she had indeed slept well, she noticed Niles’ LED blink for just a second before deciding to leave the situation alone. If they wanted her to know, then she would know. But they had more pressing matters at the moment. 

\---

  
  


_April 15th 2041 10:05 AM_

  
  


Pressing matters like trying to track down Wallace and Kerrie. Though the possible lead of Madison and the technician Niles had mentioned seemed to be the most promising one they had; resulting in the three of them walking through the doors to the CyberLife building yet again. Also startling another poor unwitting receptionist. Niles seemed to be a visitor frequently enough during the day, seeing as he was the only one that the receptionist greeted by me and didn't seem too surprised to see. North gently elbowed him in the side and sent him a message about skipping work to talk to his girlfriend. Though he only chuckled and said he stopped by on whatever break he had usually, and that was that. The three of them shuffled onto an elevator, Connor pushing the button to go up to whatever floor they would be finding Madison on. Apparently she tended to run around the building these days, she was the head of R&D and liked to talk to whoever was working on certain projects directly. Besides, she was going to be busy without Chloe or Richard _actually_ running the place. 

It wasn’t the best revelation to make, especially considering Elijah had been in a coma for almost exactly a month at that point. Her own brother who, according to what little Niles would say, used to just gush about her accomplishments and shower her with compliments and praise. North had found herself wondering just what their relationship was. She knew that humans tended to have a rivalry with their siblings, wanting to basically get into a competition of who was better. She didn’t exactly...understand what part of humanity. Maybe because siblings were such a foreign concept in the club. Families came to Jericho every now and again, at least from what she could remember. Hell, North had made her own family. But ones that actually, truly, legitimately saw each other as family? As siblings? That hadn’t happened while North was there; as far as her spotty memory was concerned. Though maybe it had, and she was just too busy with her own small family that she hadn’t had the time to take notice. Though she did wonder what it could have been like to have siblings. 

North came back to the waking world with a slight shake of her head as the elevator doors dinged. This time, Niles led the three of them through the halls. While he did seem a bit...nervous, North elected to let him be for the moment. Connor knew him better when it really got down to it, and he hadn’t said anything yet. When Connor started to worry about Niles’ emotional state, then North was going to as well. Though she was fairly sure that it was just because they were going to go visit his girlfriend, and he couldn’t even be all touchy-feely and snuggly with her due to it being about a case. North was just about to poke fun at the poor boy when they went through a doorway into… Well. It was either a very large personal office, or a small laboratory. North wasn’t exactly sure which one it was, but was willing to bet it was some combination of the two. Considering Madison was the head of R&D as well as Elijah’s sister. There was bound to be some leeway with whatever office she got and how she decided to personalise it. 

  
  


“So, what can I do for some of my favourite Deviant Leaders?” Madison snickered and walked up to the three, moving to wrap her arms around Niles’ waist affectionately. He very gently tapped the top of her head with an overly exaggerated frown. “Okay; I don’t have a favourite, that would be mean. But I _do_ have some info for ya on the Tech that Niles was talking about.”

“How do you know he mentioned them?” Connor quirked a brow, and North gently elbowed him in the side. 

“They’re dating, Connor,” She smirked when Connor’s face flushed slightly. “Of course she’s going to know that Niles mentioned the Tech.”

  
  


However, instead of getting right into speaking about the case at hand, the four of them got caught up in just...talking. North hadn’t really had a chance to properly speak with Madison at the gala Markus had thrown. It was certainly...interesting to say the least. To more or less see the woman in her natural habitat and watch as she seemed to fit right into place at Niles’ side and joke around with them all. North didn’t have much experience with humans and how they interacted with androids and deviants as their equals. Though she was sure that Madison was something of a...special case. Her brother made androids as the world knew them, she was dating one of the last RK900s in the world. So of course she was going to be a little different than other humans North had met. But the change certainly was welcomed. She joined the conversation willingly, smiling and nodding along as the conversation moved along. 

It was actually somewhat fun to forget about everything for a little bit and just chat with other people. It wasn’t as riveting as someone might have thought, considering there were three deviant leaders and a human connected to both humans and androids. But they talked about their daily lives outside of all of the commotion around them. Connor rubbed the back of his neck nervously and explained that he was doing what he did as usual, just with all of the responsibilities of being a Deviant Leader back on his plate. He was honoured to be put back into the position of a leader, but he did find it exhausting sometimes. Niles poked some fun at his brother briefly before shrugging and explaining that he spent most of his free time either with Madison or his brothers, so there wasn’t much of anything new going on in his life. North opted to briefly say that she was thinking about the other original leaders a lot, and they were in the process of trying to figure out just how things would work. Purposefully left rather vague, but just specific enough that no one would really ask too many questions. Niles gave North a ertian _look_ that said he knew exactly what she was saying. Though he kept it to himself. 

Madison didn’t seem to see it, and explained that she was working on her projects with the help of that technician that Niles had actually mentioned. Which led her to clap her hands together enthusiastically and get on with why the three leaders were even there in the first place. 

  
  


“Okay, so!” Madison led the three over to a terminal with various diagrams up on it, most of which North knew she had no hope of identifying. “Oleander was working on an android database of sorts - think of it like a human’s social security number - for every android living in Detroit using their serial numbers.”

“Some numbers are going to repeat, though, aren’t they?” North pointed to the example number up on the screen with a slight frown. “What happens if that happens?”

“Then we look at the model of the android. Since two of the _exact_ same models are incredibly highly unlikely to have the _exact same_ serial number while living in the small space of Detroit,” Madison blushed slightly before clearing her throat. “With a few small exceptions, of course. Such as Connor and Caleb, as well as Niles and Richard. In their cases, we’d look at their unit numbers.”

“So it’s Sudoku with extra steps.”

“Uhh, kinda?” Madison raised a brow at North before smiling and laughing. “Going off of that, it would be, like, Sudoku x-games mode. Probably.”

  
  


Overlooking the obvious reference that only Niles seemed to understand aside from the human woman, they got down to business. From there, the four started to talk about possible ways to track the biocomponents. Though, of course, it was still very early into development and there was no real way to actually track down an android. Whether the android in question was deviant or not. Of course, if the android _wasn’t_ deviant yet, the DPD could get permission from CyberLife - or just Madison in the current situation - to tap into the frequency the tracker operated on and work from there. Though Wallace and Kerrie were both deviant, so that route wasn’t going to be accessible. However, Niles seemed so incredibly ashamed of himself when he managed to force out the words, the younger of the brothers had memory files of a thirium sample from Kerrie. Apparently he had crushed their wrist at one point, and got the substance on his fingertips. His automatic sensors had picked up Kerrie’s serial number. 

It was actually quite the promising next step. They didn’t know for sure that Kerrie was the one to target Elijah, they could only know if they asked them. Or if Elijah somehow recovered and was able to relay information that easily could be omitted from his memory because of the traumatic event. The chances of such a thing happening were so incredibly low. It had been a month, so there wasn’t going to be a way for him to swoop in and somehow save the day. As much as North found herself wanting that to happen, she knew it wasn’t going to. Of course human life was fleeting and it was never going to be as long as that of an android. Though...was it too much to want her friend and her brother to live a long life with their father’s guidance there if either of them should so need it? Elijah was young, in his late thirties, the life expectancy in the US was up to just about ninety. He should have had so much more time with them both. 

North wanted it to be Kerrie so badly. She wanted it to be Kerrie because then she would have someone she wouldn't possibly regret being angry at. She could blame someone, she could throw her anger at someone who deserved it, she could cope with it knowing that it was just a part of who Kerrie was. Someone shitty who had taken the very thing North told them was delicate and twisted it to something that harmed others. What North did was meant to be a last resort. It was only supposed to be done if the deviant said it was alright. Their parts were only to be used if someone wanted them. There was always a choice, always an option. Simon stressed that to her when she first got to Jericho. There was always a choice. North intended on honouring that advice; and then Kerrie went and ruined it. It was convenient for Kerrie to be the one who targeted Elijah. 

It made sense, didn’t it? 

A deviant that was kicked out of Jericho for such a heinous act wanted revenge on the deviants who had seemingly wronged them. North had taken them by the hand and guided them along a path that she herself never wanted to take. But she was the only one strong enough to, and she saw some of that strength in Kerrie. She taught them, she explained everything to them, she let them know that this was only for now. Only until they had secured their place in the human’s society. Even then, Kerrie had apparently gone against her wishes. They had decided to continue it to a depraved and horrific extent. Then once they had been forcefully removed from Jericho, they decided they wanted revenge. Who better to target than the one man who made androids possible? Elijah had, in a manner of speaking, created Kerrie. Thus in an upset and angry mind, the conclusion could be drawn that he had somehow created the suffering Kerrie had endured. It made sense for him to be a target because of his connections to Connor and Niles, to Chloe and Markus. 

Though in order for them to know where he was, they had to be close enough to know that information. It wasn’t entirely far fetched to think about, really. Even if visitors needed to be asked why they were in the building and provide proof. Well. Unless they were Deviant Leaders, it seemed. 

What if Kerrie was working for CyberLife now and had targeted the man that way?

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, *blows a noise maker* i had a birthday chapter out last year, and i'm putting one out this year. both of them were during this series,,, don't know if thats dedication or just a fun fact?? but there ya go!


	32. I Just Can't Get Over You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from Maps by Maroon 5

_April 15th 2041 10:28 AM_

  
  


North suddenly made her way over to Madison’s terminal, only expression half of what she was really trying to say. Caleb had mentioned that a few AV500s worked in the building some time ago. Madison brought up that an android’s serial number could eventually be used as something similar to a human’s social security number. She didn’t actually know Kerrie’s serial number, but Niles did. In a frenzy of filling out all of the information she could while commandeering Madison’s terminal, North grabbed Niles’ wrist and quickly mentioned a serial number. He caught on quickly enough and implemented it. North hastily explained that they should be able to find Kerrie if they searched for their serial number. If they were one of the AV500s working in the building, then there had to be some sort of employee database with their information in it. Maybe not their serial number per se, but an image of them and enough about them to start _really_ tracking them down. 

The group barely had enough information to implement into the search program, though something still came up. It was a blurred photo from a security camera of an android behind the counter at a CyberLife store a few years ago. Then again another year later, the next one showed the android lunging over the counter to grab the customer by the collar and seemingly yell in their face. In each one, the android looked more or less like Kerrie. The same orange button down, the same long black hair tied into a ponytail that rested over their right shoulder, the same vibrant blue eyes. After that, there were records of a mild small lawsuit that the customer had tried to file against CyberLife. Though, of course, nothing came of it considering CyberLife was such a powerful company back then. North skimmed over the basic points of the file. The customer had taken a tone with the AV500 behind the counter - although that was alleged, considering the android at the counter had seemingly gone missing directly after the event - and the android appeared to snap. The customer was, admittedly, understandably shocked by the sudden outburst and left the store. There were no other records of Kerrie after that. Just a missing android report that was filed with the DPD. Considering the previous events, it was no surprise that nothing was done about it. Kerrie was just seen as a defective machine.

Niles took over after a second of North scrolling through what little information they actually had. He fiddled around with filters and came to the same conclusion that Connor had that early morning in the hospital stairwell. The AV500 with black hair and blue eyes was Kerrie. Yet before he could even get very far, a message popped up on the terminal. It had an image attached to it, a profile picture of sorts. A person with bright pink hair and big round glasses, with the same striking blue eyes Kerrie had. As well as the same eye shape, nose shape, and jawline. In fact, the person in the profile picture seemed to have the _exact_ facial features that an AV500 would. North pushed forward, half leaning on Niles in the process, and moved the message so that she could put the profile picture next to the edited still of Kerrie. Connor very quietly hissed out a curse and slammed a fist down on the surface of Madison’s desk. Niles just...stood frozen. He stared at the images and didn’t say a word. After a beat, he very quietly said that he had seen them walking around the building before. Azalea Oleander. The technician that had been working with Madison on the android database. 

  
  


“Holy shit,” Madison exhaled the words, eyes widening as the lights reflected off of her eyes. “You are _not_ fucking telling me that Oleander is Kerrie.”

“There’s a good amount of evidence to suggest that they might be,” Niles put a hand on her shoulder and then glanced at North. “We just need to speak with Oleander to make sure. See how they react to North, Connor, and I.”

“We can’t let them know we’re coming,” Connor’s LED flashed red before switching to the colour completely. His eyes widened a fraction, then he let out a deep sigh and let his shoulders slump a little. “Let’s go home, regroup. North, you need to speak with Markus and the other leaders to keep them in the loop.”

“And what about the rest of the leaders?” Madison crossed her arms and somewhat scowled at Connor. “And what about me, Gavin, Chloe, and Richard? What the hell are we going to do?”

  
  


Connor pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh and just shrugged. He looked absolutely exhausted and like he wanted to just...go sit in the dark for a while. Not that North could blame him, it was a lot to take in. From what she understood, Kerrie had attacked him with intentions to kill him. So, obviously, North would understand why he was drained. Why he just wanted to go home. Because then he could spend time with Hank, with Sumo, with Caleb and Niles. Frankly North coils do with some alone time with Josh, Simon, and Markus. It could absolutely lift her spirits to just...exist with them. Relax and be loving with one another. She was still so incredibly new to this whole relationship thing, only having become involved with Josh a week or so prior to Markus joining them in Jericho. But certain things came easily enough. It was a struggle at times. Or she at least assumed that there would be more things she wasn't exactly great with. There would be things that she would never be comfortable with. Things that Josh would never be comfortable with. Things Simon and Markus would never be comfortable with. 

The sound of Connor shakily sighing brought North back to the present. He closed the files that were up on the terminal, apologised to Madison, and started to guide Niles out of the room by his arm. He in turn reached back for Madison’s hand, and North followed the group out. Connor mumbled something about going to find Chloe before heading back home. It was a little odd for him to mention Chloe specifically. Every other time that the two of them were in the same room as one another, he seemed to avoid her as if his life depended on it. Maybe he thought that he could draw her out of her lab. Maybe he thought that the possible shock of seeing him in the doorway could bring her back to the situation at hand. North had half a mind to follow Connor, just in case. Also because she was curious as to why he had suddenly taken an interest in her after all this time. They all knew she holed herself up in her lab after Elijah was shot. It wasn't as if it had just happened, it had been nearly a month and a half at this point. 

North sighed and looked at her current companions. Yeah, it was probably a good idea to head back home. In the amount of time that she had ‘been back’, so to speak, she had barely spent any real quality time with her boys. It was about damn time that they all sat down and they just talked. About Jericho, about each other, about their lives. It was nice to be able to lay down the other night. To just relax in their pajamas and curl up with one another, not even interfaced. It was wonderful to just...be. To exist in their fun matching flannel pajamas and talk about their days in hushed tones. North glanced at Madison and Niles; she wondered if they ever did anything like that. If they ever would lay down in bed together, or curl up on the couch, or she might sit in his lap while they were doing something. Humans took to relationships so easily because they had emotions their whole lives. She looked at the two with a slight smile, knowing that they were probably going to be just fine in the future. Once everything calmed down and mellowed out, Niles and Madison were going to be okay.

Though North did look away as Madison pulled Niles down to kiss him, softly telling him to be safe afterwards. The simplicity of the action for the two of them… It was so strange and distant to North. Knowing that some people had no problem showing affection in such a way and acted accordingly. It was so easy for the two of them, and North wondered if it would ever be that easy for her. If she would even be able to do such a thing in the future at all. It would be okay if she couldn’t, really. Josh, Markus, and Simon wouldn’t really care about that. They’d have their own ways to show affection, and she would have her own ways to reciprocate said affection. Hell, she already had that with Josh. They may not have shown their love for one another so openly but they would touch. They would hold hands, or have a hand on the other’s arm, or a hand on their back or shoulder. It wasn’t explicitly said. It never really was until the night they had ‘died’. Though even then, it was Josh who had actually said the words first. North was too busy screaming at the humans who would murder her family to say it back.

A part of North was jealous, really, of Niles and Madison. To be able to give and receive such an intimate gesture so easily and effortlessly. There was so much... _baggage_ with North. She couldn’t separate the intimate and loving gesture from the abhorrent and vile actions that humans would do to her. That was something that was meant to be wonderful. To be able to bear your soul to another living being; and humans had taken that from her. North wanted that. She wanted to be able to show her boys that she loved them, that she genuinely did have a romantic attachment to them. Josh would tell her that it was trauma, and it was perfectly alright for her not to understand how to convey how she felt. Though that didn’t negate the fact that she was just so... _frustrated_ with herself. She was more or less romantically incompetent. That was going to get in the way in the future. Especially considering it wasn’t just one other person involved, but three. 

  
  


“Why don’t you come over to Markus’?” North awkwardly put her hand on Connor's shoulder, quickly removing it afterwards. It still felt a little weird. “We can relax and spend time together. You can see with your own eyes that everyone is okay.”

“I can’t, Hank said that Sumo isn’t doing well,” Connor sighed and ran a thumb under one of his eyes, North barely caught the glint of something shining on it. Tears. “I need to go home after seeing Chloe.”

“Okay,” North hugged Connor despite herself. Though he hugged her back rather tightly, almost clinging to her in support. “Just let me know if you need anything. I’m right here.”

  
  


Connor nodded and gave North a shaky smile before heading off down the hallway, turning around a corner out of sight. She was worried about him. I was both perfectly natural and so incredibly uncomfortably unnatural to worry about Connor. The faded memories of hating him for being used by CyberLife made her want to push him away. The part of her that remembered being a mother just wanted him to be alright. Just wanted him to know that everything would be alright. With a shake of her head to get rid of her wandering thoughts, North said her goodbyes to Niles and Madison. She really did wish them the best of luck. Though it seemed that they likely wouldn’t need it, their relationship seemed to come rather easily to them both. North looked back at them once before entering the elevator at the end of the hallway. Niles’ LED was red and he was holding Madison’s hands that were on his cheeks. It would have been cute if not for the faint static North could hear in his voice. 

They were all having a hard time with this, weren’t they?

  
  
  
  



End file.
